Rain of Shadows
by Elros275
Summary: Takes place a few years after the epilogue. Naruto has been the Hokage for several years. The world is experiencing a period of peace the likes of which it has never seen and the next generation is beginning its journey. However, forces working from the shadows threaten to bring down the peace that has been created.
1. Era of Peace

I: Era of Peace

Kakashi

Kakashi sat in front of the campfire reading reading a book in the early morning light. The fire was dying, its last few embers fading away. Arrayed around the campfire were three tents, one for each of the people that were on this trip. Behind Kakashi was his own tent. To his right was the tent of his oldest friend and rival, Might Guy, and to his left was that of his bodyguard Mirai Sarutobi. They were north of the Hidden Leaf Village, in the forest that surrounded the area.

Kakashi's attention was distracted from his book when he heard a sound coming from Mirai's tent. Out came Mirai, fully dressed and groomed, she had probably already been up for 15 minutes.

Mirai stretched as she stepped out into the cool morning air. "Why do you always insist on taking it so slowly when we go on these trips, Lord Hokage? We could have been at the Final Valley in less than a day if we really moved."

Kakashi smiled at that. "We could, in fact. But I've spent enough of my life going as fast as I can. It's time to let a new generation take the reigns. Right now I'm perfectly content to just relax and take things slowly."

"But, Lord Hokage…"

Kakashi raised a hand to stop Mirai. "I've told you before, you don't need to call me that. I retired from that position, Naruto is the Hokage now."

Mirai crossed her arms. "And I've told you before, the Hokage are Hokage for life. You and Lady Tsunade must be shown the respect that your title is due."

Kakashi sighed and chose not to continue this conversation, one that had taken place on many occasions. Mirai, for her part, sat down next to the fire and began to throw more wood on it so that they could prepare a breakfast.

As Mirai went about the business of cooking some of the food that they had brought with them from the Hidden Leaf she posed Kakashi a question. "Why are we going to the Final Valley?"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "I've told you this before. That place has personal significance to me. Its where Sasuke and Naruto's bond broke and where it was reforged. Its where I saw my team fall apart and then be put back together."

"Yes, but why do we keep going back there? There are so many places to go and see, but we keep going back to that same spot."

At that moment Guy came out of his tent, walking on his hands with his legs held out in front of him. Since losing the use of his legs Guy had mellowed out considerably. Before the Fourth Great Ninja War he would have been the first one up, doing some ridiculous training regimen and attempting to corral Kakashi into another of their matches. The change of pace was, admittedly, nice. But the price, the loss of one of the world's finest shinobi and perhaps the greatest taijutsu user in history, was too high.

"Morning Guy," Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

"Morning Kakashi," Guy said as he settled himself down next to the fire.

Mirai stood up from her work by the fire. "I'm just going to let that sit for now. I think I'll take a little walk."

After she had left the campsite Guy turned to look at Kakashi. "Its amazing how much she looks like her mother."

Kakashi did not look up from his book as he responded. "Yes, and I think she realizes that too. She tries so hard to be like Asuma was. She styles her hair to be like his, uses his trench knives, uses the same jutsu. She even joined the Hokage Guard Squad to mirror Asuma joining the Guardian Shinobi Twelve. She is talented though."

Guy nodded. "That she is. So, why do you insist on not being called Hokage anymore?"

Kakashi stopped reading, though he didn't close the book. "Because I am the least of the Hokage. My achievements pale in comparison to those of my peers, I was never able to surpass my teacher and my students surpassed me. I think ultimately I was a placeholder between the previous generation and the next."

Guy flashed one of those iconic smiles of his. "Kakashi, my eternal rival, you are a great ninja. You are the only non-Uchiha to ever master the Mangekyo Sharingan. You were the youngest Genin, Chunnin, and Jonin in the history of the Hidden Leaf. You were a unanimous choice for the Sixth Hokage. Most importantly, I choose you to be my rival. Seriously, get back to being the cool customer that always irked me so much!"

Kakashi smiled at that, his trademark mask hiding that smile but also doing nothing to hide the fact that he was smiling. "Thanks Guy." He then returned to reading.

After several minutes during which Guy and Kakashi retrieved the cooked food from the fire and began to eat Mirai returned, carrying a small scroll in her hand.

"Lord Hokage, a message came with a missive from the village."

Kakashi looked up from his meal, his mask yet to be removed. "Oh? What does it say?"

Mirai drew herself to attention. "Sir, the Village Hidden in the Stones has sent out a message. Onoki the Fence Sitter, the Third Tsuchikage, is dead. He died of natural causes in his sleep. The Lord Seventh has requested that we return to the village."

Kakashi stood. "I see. In that case we should get going. We'll eat on the road."

Mirai nodded to show her understanding and wordlessly moved to help Guy pack and prepare his wheelchair. Kakashi himself very quickly had his own items stowed away, dowsed the fire, and sat back to eat and watch Mirai and Guy finish getting ready.

He found himself reflecting on the news that he had just received. Onoki was dead. There was something surprising about that fact. The death itself was expected. Onoki had been very old, so old in fact that he had fought Madara Uchiha before his defection from the Hidden Leaf. Bedridden and pushing 90 years of age it was only a matter of time before he passed away. But there was something deeper about this that puzzled him at some level. Kage, for all of their power, was a profession with a near 100% mortality rate. They would always be assassinated or killed in the defense of their village. However, they now lived in an era of unprecedented peace, no conflicts to die in, no enemies to send assassins. So perhaps this would be the first in a long line of Kage who die peacefully in their sleep in this era of peace.


	2. Storm Clouds on the Horizon

II: Storm Clouds on the Horizon

Kakashi

Coming into the village through the main gates was always an experience. Strategically placed so the Hokage Monument was clearly visible, designed to remind visitors of the power that protected and that was vested in this place and also to remind returning ninja that they could rest easy, as they were now under the Hokage's protection.

Kakashi stood at the gates as the sun laid low in the western sky, looking at the faces in the distance, his own among them. Mirai was taking care of the paperwork involved with coming and going from the village and Guy was with her, as she was the one who piloted his wheelchair whenever they traveled together.

As Mirai approached Kakashi after finishing the paper work Kakashi spoke. "Mirai, take Guy home, then report to captain Genma."

Mirai nodded and said, "yes, sir."

However, Guy then spoke up, laughing slightly as he did so. "Come on Kakashi, can't you take me home, my old rival?"

Kakashi didn't remove his gaze from the Hokage Monument. "I would love to Guy, but I have places I need to be."

Guy's expression turned serious as he remembered the reason why they had come back to the village early. "Oh, right. You take care of that now."

With that Mirai and Guy headed off headed off towards Guy's apartment. Kakashi stood where he was while he watched them go. When they had disappeared from his sight he turned and walked towards the gate guards.

"Anything interesting happened while we were gone."

One of the guards grabbed a sheet of paper listing the people who pass through the gate and answered. "Other than you and the news about the Third Tsuchikage the only notable things were the arrival of Sasuke Uchiha and Lady Tsunade, both of whom were expected."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright, thank you."

Kakashi turned around, intending to start walking into the village but was stopped before he could even go a single step. In front of him stood Bolt Uzamaki, pointing at Kakashi. "Grandpa Kakashi, teach me a jutsu!"

Bolt was the eldest child and only son of Naruto Uzamaki and Hinata Hyuga, 12 years old and very close to graduating from the academy. The degree to which Bolt looked like his father was amazing, even more so when he would stand defiantly in front of Kakashi like he was now. The only clear cut difference between Bolt and Naruto were in the eyes, where Bolt had inherited his mother's coloration, though they were no true Byakugan as evidenced by the visible pupils.

Kakshi closed his eyes and sighed. "Bolt, its pretty late in the day, shouldn't you be at home?"

"I was staying with Grandpa Hiashi, but I came here to demand you teach me an awesome jutsu!" Bolt pointed at Kakashi again in an attempt to emphasize the point.

Kakashi walked right past the boy. "Come on Bolt, I don't have time for this, let's take you home." Bolt hanged his head in defeat and moved to follow Kakashi silently.

Kakashi, with Bolt in tow, began to make his way through the Old Village towards the Hokage Residence. The village had grown since the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Old Village having been rebuilt after its destruction at the hands of Pain and the New Village expanding from there, with new buildings that reached high into the sky.

When Kakashi made it to the Hokage Residence he was greeted in the lobby by Shizune, now the personal assistant to Naruto as she had been to Tsunade and Kakashi before him. She ushered him towards the Hokage's office, where he was expected.

At the top of the steps leading to the office Kakashi ran into Hinata, just as he had expected. Hinata had been removed from active duty after becoming a mother, though she maintained her skills and training regimen and most notably expanded the effective range of her Byakugan to incredible distances. Able to see the whole of the village and beyond in perfect clarity, Hinata rarely worried about losing her children, or anyone for that matter. Wearing a lavender kimono Hinata looked the picture of quiet confidence and composure, a far cry from her teenage self.

On her arm was Himawari, her daughter. Seven years of age, even more the image of her mother, plus a pair of whisker marks on each cheek, than Bolt was that of their father, and just starting at the academy, the younger of the Uzamaki siblings was little ball of energy. As Kakashi came within arms length of Hinata Himawari made a flying leap from her mother's arm into those of the Sixth Hokage, yelling "Grandpa Kakashi!" as she did so.

Kakashi reacted quickly and caught the flying child. "Why hello little one, how are you doing?"

Turning herself in his arms, Himawari responded, "we're almost finished with school for the year! Summer break! Summer break!" She was apparently excited to get out of school.

Kakashi laughed at that while Hinata smiled at the scene. Meanwhile Bolt came skulking up the steps and stopped next to his mother, who put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for bringing him home, Kakashi-sensei, you didn't have to."

Kakashi had started going through the involved process of untangling himself from Himawari when he responded, a big smile evident through his mask, "it's no problem at all, I take any chance I get to see these kids." With that said he finished his task and handed Himawari back to her mother. "I'd love to stay but they are expecting me," he said, pointing behind his back in the direction of the Hokage's office.

Hinata began to corral her children towards the Hokage's apartments. "I understand Kakashi-sensei. Until next time."

Kakashi turned as the Uzamaki family disappeared around a corner and continued down the hall towards the office. When Kakashi reached it he opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. Built in the shape of an elliptical circle the Hokage's desk sat center and back from the door, under a row of windows. Sitting at the desk was Naruto, wearing his white robe and with the hat of his office laying on the desk in front of him. To Naruto's right was Shikamaru, his primary advisor. To Naruto's left was a member of the ANBU Black Ops that Kakashi knew to be Yamato, despite the fact that he wore the division cloak and mask, because Kakashi had appointed him the division commander. To Kakashi's left was Sasuke, leaning against a window and looking out of it. Center and to Kakashi's right was Tsunade.

Everyone looked up from their previous conversation when Kakashi entered the room. Naruto smiled at his former teacher. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, we just finished briefing Sasuke about the village's defensive situation." Naruto turned his attention back to his longtime friend and rival. "So, you'll be taking command of the village's defenses, while Shikamaru takes charge of administration until I return."

Sasuke nodded to show understanding but did not avert his gaze from the window.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together under his chin. "So, got any news to share with us before you go?"

Kakashi looked over at Sasuke. The Uchiha had changed dramatically since the end of the of the Fourth Great Ninja War. He had come to feel great shame for the crimes that he had committed before that conflict and felt a need to atone for his mistakes. He became a wanderer, traveling from place to place, protecting those who needed it and righting wrongs. This had earned him the moniker "the Atoner." He returned to the village periodically to visit family and friends and to share news and information gathered during his journeys.

Sasuke continued looking out of the window, though he did answer Naruto's question. "I'll start with the obvious. The other members of the Five Great Shinobi Nations are sending their Kage to Onoki's funeral."

Naruto got a very annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, we know that, we're going there too."

Sasuke's expression didn't change. "There are a couple of other things that you probably don't know and that worry me." One of Kakashi's eyebrows raised. Something had Sasuke worried?

Naruto had the same expression as Kakashi. "Let me guess. Orochimaru?"

Kakashi had to agree with his successor. After the Fourth Great Ninja War Orochimaru had been given a pardon by the international community for his part in the conflict. The Sannin, for his part, vowed to never again use his forbidden immortality jutsu and the Reanimation summoning jutsu. Since then he devoted his time to the Hidden Sound, working hard to turn it into a true shinobi village rather than a front for his criminal activities. After this many years he had yet to pose a problem but with one such as Orochimaru you could never know.

Sasuke shook his head no, looking away from the window for the first time since Kakashi came into the room and looked Naruto in the face. "No, but it does have something to do with Kabuto."

That didn't surprise Kakashi, and judging from his face Naruto wasn't surprised either. Kabuto, much like his former master, was given a pardon after the war and forswore some of his forbidden jutsu. He later began to wander the world in manner similar to Sasuke, going from place using his skills as a medical ninja to heal people wherever he went. While he was considered a possible threat he was held to be less dangerous than Orochimaru because he didn't have the resources of an entire shinobi village at his back, unlike his former master.

Naruto leaned in slightly. "What did Kabuto do?"

Sasuke shook his head again. "It wasn't anything he did, its what he hasn't been doing. Normally I hear about Kabuto during my travels, but over the past few months its been the exact opposite. In fact the only thing that I've heard of him is that he is nowhere to be found." Sasuke returned his gaze to the window. "But the most troubling news that I bring is from the Village Hidden in the Rain. The country has gone dark. The last time that I tried to pass through the country I was denied entrance and all information channels coming out of there have come to a standstill."

Naruto looked up to Shikamaru. "What do you think?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes and slowly stroked his goatee a few times. "We don't know enough information about this to really do anything with it. We should try to get more information."

Naruto nodded. "I agree." He turned to Yamato on his left. "Send ANBU teams to observe our border with the Land of Rain. I want to effectively double our patrols in the area. Make sure that their presence is hidden, we don't want to look like we're preparing for an invasion ourselves."

Yamato said a quick "yes, sir" before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto turned to face the rest of the room. "Alright, Sasuke if that's everything you've got then you and Shikamaru are dismissed." The two men left the room, Sasuke more quickly, Shikamaru in an extremely lackadaisical fashion.

After they had both left the room Naruto stood up and turned around to face the Old Village below. Naruto's cloak was reminiscent of that his father wore, with a flame pattern along the border and the words "Seventh Hokage" on the back. Whenever Kakashi saw this image it brought back memories.

Naruto turned back around. "You both know the plan. Tomorrow we leave for the Village Hidden in the Stones. We'll bring no guards and no personal assistants. This will involve Kage and Kage only." Naruto walked over to his predecessors and placed a hand on one of each of their shoulders, a big, goofy grin on his face. "Grandma Tsunade, Kakashi-sensei, its great to see you guys again." The reigning Hokage left the room, leaving Kakashi and Tsunade alone.

"He has matured so much, hasn't he, Kakashi?" Tsunade said with a small smile of pride on her face.

Kakashi looked out the window at the fading sunlight as the sun began to fall behind the western horizon. "Yes, his generation has truly taken over." He looked over at Tsunade and smiled. "Well, I think that it is time to retire for the evening. I bid you good night Lady Hokage."

Tsunade waved goodnight as Kakashi left the office. The Village Hidden in the Rain had gone dark. After the war the Rain had established the Council of Seven, that number chosen to represent moving beyond the leadership of Pain. The last time that the Rain had become this Isolationist was during Hanzo's reign, which allowed for Pain to rise without the world at large noticing and ultimately leading to the latter demolishing the Hidden Leaf. Kakashi couldn't shake this bad feeling in the back of his mind, there were dark storm clouds on the horizon.


	3. Snapshot in the Family Album

III: Snapshot in the Family Album

Rare Smiles

Sasuke

Sasuke stood in front of his home. Well, it was his home in name only, he was never there for more than a week at a time. Inside was his family. He always found interactions with them to be awkward. The whole time that he had been in Naruto's office he been looking out the window in the direction that the house was in, wondering how he was going to approach his wife and child this time. He sighed, then unlocked and opened the front door, stepping into the entrance hall.

Sasuke closed and locked the door then looked down at the floor. Two pairs of sandals, they were both home. Sasuke removed his own footwear and placed his sword against the wall. He took a deep breath and began to walk down the hallway.

He heard sounds coming from the kitchen and knew that they were in there. He came to the doorway and stepped through. Sakura, now the head of the Medical Corp, was at the sink cleaning up the remains of the dinner that they must have just finished. Sarada was sitting at the table. When she looked up and saw Sasuke her eyes widened in a combination of surprise and joy.

"Papa!"

Sasuke walked over to the table and took a seat next to Sarada, trying to figure out what to say to his daughter. "Hello Sarada… how's school going?" The last time Sasuke had been in the village she had been doing well, top of the class, showing the all around talent expected of Uchiha.

Sarada's facial expression returned to normal. The child looked like Sasuke if he had been born female, except with her mother's large forehead. Oddly enough Sarada had poor eyesight and required glasses. Sasuke had never known any Uchiha to need corrective lenses and of course were famous for possessing the Sharingan. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure where that came from but stranger things had happened.

Sarada looked down at the table. "School's going fine, Papa."

Just as Sasuke was beginning to wonder if he had said something wrong Sarada looked back up at him with a certain determination in her eyes. "Papa, can you teach me the Fireball Jutsu?"

Sasuke blinked, taken aback by the question. When he had first learned that Sakura was pregnant he had been ecstatic about the prospect of teaching the child everything there was to know about being a Uchiha. However, after reflecting on the nature of the Uchiha abilities and the Curse of Hatred he decided against ever teaching Sarada anything and silently hoped that she would never awaken the Sharingan. But, with his daughter looking at him with hope in her eyes he couldn't help but say, "yes."

Sarada's eyes widened as an expression of joy spread over her face. Then she composed herself, stood up, and bowed to Sasuke. "Thank you, Papa." She then left the room.

Sakura turned from her work at the sink and sat across from Sasuke, placing a glass of water in front of him. "I think some father-daughter time would do both of you some good. She misses you dearly."

"Any other news I should hear about?" Sasuke asked as he lifted the water to his lips.

A mischievous smile appeared across Sakura's face. "Well, it does appear as though Sarada has a little crush."

One of Sasuke's eyebrows raised as he paused from his drink to ask, "who?" He didn't know why he asked this, he didn't know many of the children in the village.

Sakura leaned in. "Bolt Uzamaki."

Sasuke placed the water back on the table as he tried to choke down whatever water was still in his mouth. That was one of the few children that he knew.

Sakura only smiled at him. "Yeah, I had a pretty similar reaction." She stood up and walked out into the hall, turning her body in such a way as to show her every curve. "Come, Sarada hasn't been the only one missing you." She disappeared around the corner heading towards the bedroom.

Sasuke stood up and followed, wearing one of his rare smiles.

* * *

Sand and Leaf

Temari

Temari stood in the middle of her son's bedroom, hands on her hips, a pained expression on her face. The room was a mess, the product of several weeks of neglect. She had told him the day before to clean the room and it appeared as though he hadn't lifted a finger to do so.

"That boy and his laziness, I swear."

Shikadai had apparently inherited the Nara lazy trait, which seemed to come part and parcel with all the other Nara traits. Along with the laziness Shikadai had his father's hair, body type, intelligence, and even his somewhat questionable attitude towards women. Temari had first thought that Shikamaru's resemblance to his father was a weird coincidence but after giving birth to Shikadai she wasn't so sure. One of the few differences between father and son was in the way they avoided doing work. Shikamaru went about it by being aloof and ignoring it. However, Shikadai dodged responsibility by being brash and disrespectful towards authority figures. This, along with his green eyes, were probably the only effects that Temari's genes had had on the Nara male equation.

Temari decided that some discipline was in order. She left the room to find Shikadai. Her guess was that the boy was lounging on the balcony so she made her way there. Her guess turned out to be correct. She found Shikadai laying on the bench on the balcony with his eyes closed, lazily twirling a piece of straw in his mouth, and strategically oriented so that the setting sun would cast a shadow over his face.

Temari leaned against the doorway leading back into the house. "Shikadai, go and clean your room."

Shikadai didn't even open his eyes. "Nah, I don't think I will, Mom."

Temari walked over beside the bench and leaned over her son, putting herself in a position of physical dominance over the boy. "Shikadai, go clean your room. In fact, since I told you to do it yesterday and you didn't, go over everything twice."

Shikadai opened one eye. "Mom.."

Temari let a little bit of menace creep into her voice. "Shikadai, go and do what I told you to do, or I'll go get my fan and give you a bigger mess to clean."

Shikadai pulled himself to his feet. "OK, Mom, sheesh," he said as he walked to his bedroom.

Temari sighed and sat down on the bench. What had possessed her to have such a slacker family? She chuckled at herself for that. No matter how exasperated her family made her she loved them more than she had ever thought possible. As she sat there she found herself watching the clouds, which were bathed in orange light from the sunset. Cloud watching was Shikamaru's favorite pastime and over the years Temari had come to understand why. There was a certain amount of relaxation that came from it.

When Temari had enough of watching the clouds she stood up and walked over to the railing and leaned against it. She looked down at the street below. Rounding the corner at that moment was Shikamaru, returning from another long day at the office. Temari straightened her black kimono with purple trimmings and went to go meet him at the door.

Shikamaru had come in and was in the middle of removing his sandals when Temari walked into the entrance hall. He looked up when she stepped into view. "Hey you, where is that son of ours?"

Temari placed one hand on a hip as a smirk appeared on her face. "He's upstairs cleaning his room. I swear its a miracle that you Nara men ever get anything done."

Shikamaru finished with his sandals and laughed slightly at the comment. "It's because we always end up marrying pushy women who nag us endlessly."

Temari put on a face of mock wonder. "Really? I would like to meet such a women."

Shikamaru hugged his wife and lightly kissed her on the lips. "I'll be sure to introduce you to her."

Together they walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other, feet up on the footrest in front of them. Shikamaru grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He put it on a nondescript channel and the sound filled the room and became background noise.

Temari laid her head on her husband's shoulder. "So, Naruto is heading to the Hidden Stone."

Shikamaru nodded, his eyes closed. "Yep. He's leaving the village defenses to Sasuke but everything else he's putting on me. Such a drag."

"Yes, but you'll do it because you're such a diligent little man." Temari patted Shikamaru on the chest lightly.

Shikamaru rubbed his wife's arm affectionately. "If that's what you think then you must have married the wrong person."

The two of them laid there like that for quite some time. As they did so Temari reflected that she wouldn't trade this for anything. It had seemed such a strange pairing at the outset but it had turned out to be wonderful, this mingling of sand and leaf.

* * *

Cracks in the Armor

Hinata

Hinata sat at the table in the kitchen. Naruto had once again missed dinner with the family, working late in the day. She had his food sitting in the refrigerator waiting for him. She heard the door into the apartments open, meaning that Naruto had finally finished for the day. He walked into the kitchen, no longer wearing his robe, took out his food from the refrigerator, heated it in the microwave, and sat across from Hinata.

As he started to eat Naruto said, "are the kids in bed?"

Hinata nodded in confirmation. "Yep. Himawari is fast asleep, I think I succeeded in wearing her out today. Bolt's supposed to be asleep but he's studying for the graduation exam so I'll leave him be."

Naruto nodded to show that he understood. They sat in silence for a few moments while Naruto continued to eat. Finally Hinata spoke up.

"You know, I think Bolt would really benefit from spending more time with you."

Naruto looked up from his meal. "I know, the pranks he pulls, they're just attempts to get my attention."

Hinata leaned in. "Its not just that. He keeps pestering other people to teach him. Today alone he probably tried to coerce my father and Kakashi-sensei to teach him jutsu because you don't have time to do it yourself."

Naruto hanged his head. "Yeah, and what would you have me do about it?"

Hinata paused for a moment. "Just make more time for him, and Himawari too."

Naruto put his head in his hands, his meal forgotten. "I would if I could but I'm just too busy. My schedule is too full for that, believe it."

Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's check. "You put too much strain on yourself, you need this too."

Naruto shook his head, causing Hinata to withdraw her hand. "No. I'm the hero that everyone expects to solve everything. I can't afford to let up, fail, disappoint them."

Hinata stood up and walked around the table, sitting next to her husband and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Before she could say anything, however, he spoke.

"Sometimes I wonder why I wanted to be Hokage."

Hinata gave Naruto a squeeze. "You became Hokage because you wanted everyone to acknowledge you and because you wanted to protect all of us."

Naruto chuckled and said "yeah."

Naruto stood up, put his half finished meal in the sink, and walked out of the room. Hinata watched him as he went. No one else could see it yet, but they were starting to show. Naruto had cracks in the armor.


	4. Transgression

IV: Transgression

Hinata

Hinata laid in her bed, awake. She turned her head to look at her husband on her left. He was fast asleep as the early morning light crept its way up his face. Today was the day that Naruto would begin his trip to the Hidden Stone. Three days to get there, one day for the funeral and a short Kage Summit, and three days back. A whole week out of the village, returning just before the academy graduation exam. After their conversation about him needing to spend more time with their kids he was leaving, but there was nothing they could do. It was his duty as the Hokage.

As the light reached his eyes Naruto woke up. "Wha… morning already?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. We should get going soon."

Naruto climbed out of bed. "I'll take the first shower."

Hinata watched him go into the adjoining bathroom. The Hokage were leaving early in the morning, but that was no reason for the kids not to see their father off. She climbed out of bed and put a robe on over her nightgown. She made her way to each kid's room.

First she came to Himawari's room, silently opening the door and making her way to the child's bed and gently shaking her awake. Himawari's eyes slowly blinked and she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "What is it, Mommy?"

Hinata gently rubbed her daughter's back. "You want to come see Daddy off on his trip?"

Himawari looked at Hinata's face, smiled, and said "yes" before falling back to sleep.

Hinata silently made her way back out to the hallway and then walked down to Bolt's room. She made her way to Bolt's bed in a manner similar to the way she did Himawari's, but when she reached down to shake him awake he spoke.

"I'm not coming."

Bolt was laying on his side, facing away from Hinata. "Why not?" she asked.

"He doesn't make time for me, so why should I make time for him?" Bolt asked with a degree of contempt in his voice.

Hinata sighed, sitting herself on the edge of the bed. "You know, this is your last chance to see your dad for a whole week."

Bolt brought himself to a sitting position with his legs crossed, still facing away from his mother. After a short pause he said, "fine, I'll come," climbing out of bed and grabbing some clothes before he walked out into the hall, heading towards the bathroom.

Hinata was worried about what she just witnessed but at the moment there wasn't much she could do about that. She made her way back to the master bedroom to find Naruto putting on his robe with his hat on the bed. He turned to face Hinata.

"Oh, there you are. What's up."

Hinata started to head towards the bathroom to take her own shower. "The kids are coming to see you off. Himawari probably needs to be waked up again."

Naruto nodded. "I'll go get her after I've finished packing." He then knelled over to start putting some last minute items into a backpack.

Hinata stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. After slipping off her robe and nightgown she turned the water on for a nice hot shower. As she stood there letting the water pour over her body she wrestled in her mind with the same conundrum that she had been grappling with for some time now. How can she get Naruto to spend more time with the kids? There was no clear answer to that problem.

Eventually she pushed that thought from her mind and went about the process of cleaning herself. When she got out of the shower Naruto had already gone to check on Himawari. Hinata put on some clean clothes, a white kimono with gold trimmings. She drew her long hair up into a bun and went to go check on the rest of the family's progress.

She found them waiting for her at the front door, ready to go. Naruto wore his white robe over his normal clothing, his hat hanging from his neck and resting over his backpack. Himawari sat by the door wearing a yellow t-shirt with a red skirt, happily singing to herself. Bolt sulked in the corner in his black tracksuit over a white t-shirt, fingering his lighting bolt necklace.

When Naruto saw that Hinata he exclaimed, "alright, time to go!" and put Himawari on his shoulder as the girl laughed happily. Hinata smiled, that was the kind of thing that needed to happen more often. They then left the apartment, Naruto carrying Himawari on his shoulder, Hinata walking next to him, with Bolt pulling up the rear. They made their way relatively quickly to the main gates, where Tsunade and Kakashi were waiting for them.

As the Uzamakis approached Kakashi looked up from the book he was reading. "You're late."

Naruto laughed at that. "You're one to talk, Kakashi-sensei."

With paperwork already taken care of by his predecessors Naruto went about the business of saying goodbye to his family. He took Himawari from his shoulder and gave her a big hug. "Bye Daddy, see you next week!" she said with a wave as he put her down.

Then Naruto walked up to Bolt. The boy gave his father a reluctant hug without a word.

When Naruto and Hinata had their departing hug and kiss she just whispered in his ear, "be safe."

With a big, goofy grin plastered on his face he waved bye as he walked out of the village with Kakashi and Tsunade.

When they disappeared from view Hinata motioned to her children "let's go" and they walked off.

When she realized that they were moving in the direction of the cemetery Himawari looked up at her mother. "Are we going to see Uncle Neji?"

Hinata nodded. She did this whenever Naruto left the village for long periods. She would always go to Neji's grave to pay respects and ask him to look over Naruto. However, as they approached the site she could feel that something was wrong. Visible from where they were was someone else at Neji's grave. Hinata motioned to her children to stop. Not paying heed to their questions she activated her Byakugan. To her surprise she saw the person use earth style ninjutsu to slip through the ground over Neji's grave and back up, carrying something in his hand. Something was wrong with this.

Telling her children to stay where they were she ran to confront the unknown grave robber, who she could now see was dressed entirely in black with no features showing. Why did she have to be wearing a constricting kimono for this? No matter, she would just have to deal with it. As she approached her target she yelled out "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm." The man was thrown to several feet back as he was hit by a fist sized packet of chakra-infused and compressed air. Hinata, slowed down by her kimono, made a jump to strike her opponent. However, when her blow landed she hit nothing but the ground. Looking around with her Byakugan she couldn't find him in the immediate vicinity. Had he gone for the children? No. She focused her chakra around her eyes and began to look at areas further away. Then she found him, somehow already ten miles away and moving quickly away from the village. There was no way she could catch him at this point.

Hinata, forgetting entirely her original purpose for coming to the cemetery, grabbed her children and began to move back to the Hokage Residence. She had to tell Shikamaru about what just happened. Someone was going to pay for this transgression.


	5. Gift

V: Gift

Sasuke

Sasuke sat meditating at the edge of a pier on a lake in one of the Leaf's many training grounds. It was a quiet, isolated place and the perfect spot to practice some fire jutsu. He had left the house at sunrise, leaving a note for Sarada telling her to come meet him at this spot as soon as she was ready. It was now late morning and she was just arriving.

"I'm here, Papa," Sarada said, though Sasuke had known that she was there before she said anything.

Sasuke stood and turned in a single smooth motion to face his daughter. She was standing at the far end of the pier, looking at him.

"Do you know the significance of the Fireball Jutsu, Sarada?" Sasuke asked.

Sarada shook her head no. "I was talking to grandpa Kakashi and he told me about how you had mastered the Fireball Jutsu before you left the academy, how it was a mainstay for you."

Sasuke nodded. "I see. In that case let me explain it to you. The Fireball Jutsu isn't just any technique. In our clan it is a rite of passage, being able to perform this jutsu signifies that you are ready for adulthood and that you are worthy of the name Uchiha."

Sarada dipped her head to the side slightly, denoting her confusion. "If its so important than why haven't you taught it to me?"

Sasuke took a few steps forward and kneeled so that he was looking at Sarada eye to eye, his own expressing in equal measure feelings of regret and sadness. "Sarada, I have been…hesitant about teaching you the ways of the Uchiha and I apologize for that. But I promise, all will be made known to you eventually."

Sarada looked back for a few moments before giving a confirming nod.

Sasuke stood back up and walked to the edge of the pier. "I will perform the jutsu once, to show you what you must aim for. After that you are on your own. When you feel that you have learned it properly, show it to me."

Sarada took up a position in front and to the left of her father to observe the jutsu. Sasuke went through all the signs for the fireball jutsu, slowly so that Sarada could follow it. Inhaling, he built up chakra in his chest and as he exhaled yelled out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu," releasing the energy through his mouth as flame. The fire danced and flickered across the water's surface as Sasuke exhaled, careful to limit the amount of chakra he put into the jutsu. Didn't want Sarada making it more powerful than she could handle. After relinquishing the technique the flames dissipated over the water's surface.

Sasuke made a half turn to look at Sarada. "The signs are snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger. You will gather the chakra in your chest, then draw it up to your mouth. When you release it convert it to fire. This technique relies on change in chakra nature, requiring significant energy and skill, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it immediately."

Sarada nodded to show her understanding. Sasuke turned and walked back to the shore. Finding a patch of grass near the pier he sat down to watch his daughter try her hand at the Fireball jutsu.

The first attempts produced only small amounts of flame, perhaps equivalent to a lighter. With every few attempts the fires became slightly bigger and covered a slightly larger area. After about thirty minutes of this Sasuke was distracted by a bird that flew down in front of him. A bird that was likely sent by Sai, seeing as how it was made of ink.

As Sasuke looked at the bird it began to unravel, the lines extraditing themselves from the shape a bird. They started to form letters and then words that formed a message. "Sasuke - two dozen unknown individuals carrying a large object are approaching the main gates. Request your presence immediately." Sasuke had been hoping to stay longer with Sarada but duty called.

Standing up, Sasuke called out to his daughter. "Sarada, you should go home. Have your mother check you for burns and get some rest, no sense in having you collapse from chakra exhaustion."

Sarada, who had been in the process of producing her biggest fireball yet, stopped and turned around to look at Sasuke. For a moment a look of disappointment appeared on her face, then she began to walk down the pier. When she reached the shore she stopped and turned to Sasuke, bowing to him.

"Thank you, Papa."

Sasuke watched as his daughter walked away in the direction of home. For a moment he felt a bit of guilt and pity, but the situation at the gate required his attention. Gathering chakra in his legs he took off towards the gates as fast as possible. In a few moments he was standing at the top of the gate with Sai, now second-in-command of the ANBU, along with three of his subordinates.

Sai pointed down towards the forest surrounding the village. "There they are now."

Indeed there they were, two dozen men, all appearing to be shinobi of the Hidden Rain, carrying some large object between them. The apparent leader, presumably a jonin based on his uniform, was walking ahead of the main group.

Sai looked at Sasuke. "What's your plan?"

Sasuke looked down at the group as he thought. "I confront them directly, flanked by two of you. The other two will fan out into the woods and take up positions on either side of the group. Do not make the first strike, if we fight it will be in self defense"

With that Sasuke jumped down to meet these strangers. In less then a moment he was before them, resting his hand lightly on his sword. The two dozen shinobi did not flinch, merely coming to a halt. Sasuke could sense the ANBU move into their positions.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. You are approaching our village unannounced. State your purpose or you will be treated as an enemy."

The leader of the Rain shinobi stepped forward and, with a flair that would have been more appropriate for a salesman, addressed Sasuke. "My Lord Uchiha, we come to your fine village with a gift. The remains of one of your greatest heroes, the Toad Sage and one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiyia. We make this gift as a sign of continuing friendship and deepest admiration." With that said the man stepped to the side to let what Sasuke could now see was a coffin come forward, carried by three men on either side. They placed it gently on the ground and the entire contingent left without another word, heading away from the village.

For a moment Sasuke stood where he was, somewhat dumbfounded. Jiraiya was one of the few notable shinobi not to be resurrected by Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Due to this it was thought that the body had been destroyed or lost after his death at the hands of Pain. Yet here it was now, supposedly. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and scanned the box, searching for possible traps.

Finding nothing wrong with it, Sasuke turned to Sai, who had walked up next to him. Disengaging his Sharingan, he said, "examine the coffin for any nasty surprises. If it checks outs then send it to the Medical Corp."

With that said Sasuke turned to head back to the village. This was unexpected and Sasuke was unsure what to think of it, but if it truly was the body of Jiraiya then Naruto would likely be pleased by this gift.


	6. Not Done Yet

VI: Not Done Yet

Shikamaru

Shikamaru walked slowly through the Hokage residence. It was early morning on the first day of his week as Hokage in all but name and he was not looking forward to it all that much. Unfortunately it was something that he had to do, the village didn't stop running simply because its Hokage wasn't around. Shikamaru eventually made his way to the office, taking the seat at Naruto's desk. Assuming that there were no delays the Hokage should already be on their way, meaning that Shikamaru the Stand-in Hokage had officially begun his reign.

Just as Shikamaru was starting to sort through the paperwork that he would have to deal with that day Hinata came bursting into the room. The first thing that he noticed about her was that the very nice kimono she wore was noticeably and uncharacteristically disheveled.

Shikamaru looked at the Hokage's wife, wondering what was wrong. "What's up, Hinata? Did something happen at the gates?"

Hinata, speaking extremely quickly, said, "no. This was something else. I encountered a grave robber at Neji's burial site."

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows raised. "What? You mind starting from the beginning?"

Hinata took a breath as she calmed herself. "Right, so I took the kids to see Naruto off on his journey. Afterwords I took them to the cemetery to pay respects to Neji and ask him to watch over Naruto while he's traveling, as I always do when he leaves the village. When we got there we found a man at the gravesite. This man invaded Neji's final resting place!"

Hinata placed her hands on the desk and looked Shikamaru in the eyes. Staring into the former Hyuga heiress's featureless eyes Shikamaru could only describe them as a calm serenity covering a raging pool of fury. In response he leaned back in his chair and nodded.

"Alright Hinata, I'll look into it."

* * *

A couple of hours later Shikamaru was sitting in the office with a notebook and pencil in his hands. Hinata, looking much neater than she did earlier that morning, was in the room with him, along with the commander of the ANBU Investigation Unit, and a ninja from the Medical Corp.

Shikamaru placed his notebook on the desk. "So, what leads have we found?"

The ANBU member was the first to speak. "Sir, we searched the entire village and the outlying areas. We found no sign of the man."

"When I fought him he escaped by moving almost 10 miles in almost no time at all," Hinata said. "Its likely he was already entirely beyond our reach by the time I informed you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nodded. Looking at the ANBU he said, "did you find any witnesses besides Hinata?"

The ANBU shook his head in response.

Shikamaru placed his hand on his chin in thought. "Then we have to assume that this individual is highly skilled in infiltration. Hinata, do you have any other information that we could use to profile him?"

Hinata nodded. "This man used earth style ninjutsu and displayed considerable skill in it. He was able to move through the ground at incredible speeds with it."

Shikamaru wrote a few notes on what they had discussed and looked at the ANBU member. "We don't have close to enough information to even consider trying to identify him, but we have some idea of his abilities. Inform all squad leaders of this and that finding him or information concerning him is considered a top priority." The ANBU bowed and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Shikamaru turned to the medical ninja. "The examination of the grave site is complete?"

The medical ninja nodded. "Yes, my lor…sir."

Shikamaru decided to ignore that, less troublesome that way. "What did you find?"

The medical ninja fidgeted a bit, glancing at Hinata. "Well sir, in a word, nothing."

Shikamaru was surprised by this. "Nothing? You're sure?"

The man nodded. "Sir, I examined the site myself. The body is indeed that of Neji Hyuga and it shows expected levels of decomposition. However, nothing was removed from the site or even added. As far as we can tell its been untouched since it was interred there. I doubt that this grave robber touched the body."

Hinata turned to look at the medic. Without displaying any aggression she said, "wait, are you saying that I'm making this up."

The medic crossed his arms. "Not necessarily but all the evidence points to this having not even happened, except for your own eyewitness account."

Shikamaru sighed. "I trust Hinata's eyes and more importantly I trust her. If she says that something's wrong then something's wrong."

Medical ninja bowed to Shikamaru. "I see, sir." He then turned to Hinata and did the same. "I beg your forgiveness, my lady."

Shikamaru grabbed an unrelated piece of paperwork. "Seeing as how we're not going to make much more progress on this and I have a lot of other work to do, you're both dismissed."

Both of the other two people in the room bowed before leaving. Hinata, however, turned around before she stepped through the door. "Shikamaru, thank you," she said before she left.

"Don't mention it," Shikamaru replied.

* * *

Just past noon, as Shikamaru was trudging his way through some more paper work, Shizune came in.

"Shikamaru, message from the Medical Corp, your presence is requested at the hospital."

Shikamaru sighed. "Alright, I'm going. Did they happen to say why?"

Shizune shook her head. "No, they just requested your presence."

Shikamaru stood up. "Fine, I'm going."

Arriving at the hospital, Shikamaru found Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura waiting for him in the lobby. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Sai shrugged shoulders. "We're actually not sure."

Sasuke picked up where Sai left off. "A large group of Rain shinobi approached the village earlier today. When we confronted them they left, leaving behind the body of Jiraiya."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Jiraiya? Are you serious?"

Sasuke nodded yes. "We had the coffin and body examined for traps and such but it came up clean."

Shikamaru was still confused. "Did you say that it was ninja from the Rain Village? I thought you said that they had gone dark."

"I did, and they have," Sasuke said. "According to my sources this is the first contact they've had with anyone in weeks, possibly months."

Before Shikamaru could begin to compute this information Sakura spoke up. "What's more, there's something strange with the body. Come and look." With that Sakura turned around and began to walk towards the morgue, beckoning the others to follow.

Arriving in the morgue Sakura opened one of the shelves and slid the table out. The body sat on top, covered in cloth, and it was certainly tall enough to be the Toad Sage. Without a word Sakura removed the cover.

Shikamaru stared for a moment, trying to come to terms with what lay in front of him. "The body, it looks like its been dead for a few months."

Sakura placed a hand on the table and nodded. "Correct, this is not the level of decomposition that we would expect after almost 15 years of exposure. This would be characteristic of two to four months, depending on the exact conditions in the surroundings. However, this is not the result mere preservation. On closer inspection it appears as though the flesh has been…renewed."

Shikamaru, his attention finally torn from the body, looked at Sakura. "Renewed? What do you mean? How?"

"The cells of the body show signs of recent division and growth, though this should have stopped after death," Sakura said. "My theory it that someone used chakra to cause the cells to regenerate and multiply, renewing the flesh and reversing the decomposition process. Its not too dissimilar to the Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration that Lady Tsunade and myself use, though with an added dimension of difficulty added, as the cells are first temporally brought back to life."

Shikamaru listened and absorbed this information before asking, "is this jutsu beyond the reach of ordinary medical ninja?"

Sakura nodded. "Its possibly the most advanced medical jutsu I've ever seen. Myself and Lady Tsuande could probably pull it off, as well as Kabuto. A few others might have the prerequisite skill, but if there is a fourth person to add to that list its likely that we simply don't know who they are."

"Kabuto." Shikamaru turned to face Sasuke. "You said that he was missing, correct?"

Sasuke nodded. "He's been missing for months, though its difficult to pinpoint an exact date."

Shikamaru placed a hand on his chin. "Its possible that he's working with the Hidden Rain, though we really don't know."

Sai stepped forward. "Sir, what do you want to do about this."

Shikamaru placed his fingers on his temples, thinking. "The body itself is no threat to us, keep it here for the moment. As to the Rain Village we can't really do much. As far as the public is concerned they just made a gesture of friendship, we can't repay them with suspicion and aggression."

"So our orders are to wait," Sai said.

Shikamaru moved his hands back to his sides. "Yes."

* * *

Sitting in the office Shikamaru found himself contemplating what a troublesome day it had been and it was barely half way through. First it had been the grave robbing incident, then the Rain ninja and the return of Jiraiya's remains. Both promoted more questions than they offered answers and that annoyed Shikamaru as well as worried him. Something was going on, but until they had a clearer picture of the situation there was nothing that they could do about it.

Shikamaru was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Shikamaru" he heard Shizune said, "a messenger has arrived from the Village Hidden in the Sound."

A messenger from the Hidden Sound? What could this be about? Shikamaru stood up and called out, "go ahead and bring him in."

Shizune opened the door and walked in, followed by someone who appeared to be a jonin from the Hidden Sound, flanked by two members of the ANBU. Shizune took up a position to the left of Shikamaru while the messenger stood front and center with his guards.

Shikamaru straightened his shirt a bit, trying to look official. "So, what is this message you bring?"

The Sound ninja looked at Shikamaru for a moment. "I'm sorry sir, I was told to only give this message to the Hokage, no one else."

"Huh," Shikamaru said, "well, uh, I understand but the Hokage isn't here currently and will not return until a week from now."

The Sound ninja relaxed his posture. "Then I'll just have to wait until he returns."

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked. "Can this really wait for a week?"

"I was told to give this message to the Hokage and the Hokage only," the Sound ninja said.

Shikamaru decided to fish for what information he could get. "Is there nothing you can tell us, perhaps some news?"

The messenger thought for a moment. "I suppose I could. The Village Hidden in the Sound has been attacked."

Shikamaru's eyebrows didn't raise in surprise. It had been that kind of troublesome day. "Attacked, you say."

The Sound ninja nodded. "A single individual assaulted the village. Nothing we did even touched him. Lord Orochimaru entrusted me with this message before he went to engage the enemy, hoping to buy time for an evacuation to take place. We managed to get the civilian population out with minimal casualties, but Lord Orochimaru is assumed KIA."

That piece of news was enough to surprise Shikamaru, even on a day such as this. "I…see." Motioning to the ANBU, Shikamaru said, "take this man and give him some lodging. Looks like he's going to be staying for at least a week."

The ANBU nodded before escorting the Sound ninja out of the room.

Shizune looked over at Shikamaru. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," Shikamaru said. "One can never know what to expect with Orochimaru. Send an ANBU unit to observe the situation in the Hidden Sound. Otherwise, there isn't much that we can do until Naruto returns."

Shizune nodded and went to leave in order to organize that recon squad. However, before she could get to the door Shikamaru called to her.

"Shizune, I think I"ll call it a day pretty soon. I'll take care of some more paperwork and then head home, spend some time with the family."

Tsunade's former apprentice nodded and then left. With all that had happened today everyone who worked at the Hokage Residence was exhausted. Shikamaru grabbed a nearby piece of paper that just so happened to be the roster for the next class coming out of the academy. He smiled as he looked at the paper. The next generation was getting ready to take over but the current one's job was not done yet.


	7. Resurrection

VII: Resurrection

Askia

Askia woke from his restless sleep. He looked at his clock. Morning already? In that case he better go report in. He stood up and put on his uniform. Askia was in a hidden underground compound in the northern part of the Land of Fire and had arrived there late the previous night.

Walking through the empty halls of the compound Askia began to towards the audience chambers. Eventually he got there and stepped into the small waiting area outside of the room. He then heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Askia Fong, I see that you're not dead."

Askia turned to look at the source of the voice. A young and attractive man with slim features was leaning against the wall next to the door. He was wearing a sneer on his face.

Askia studied him for a moment. "Tadashi, you of all people should know that it takes an awful lot to kill me."

Tadashi shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I don't know about that. After all, I'm the one his lordship chose to accompany him on his mission, while you sent off all on your lonesome."

"Speaking of which," Askia said, "where did you go?"

Tadashi waggled a finger and tsked. "Now, now, Askia. You and I both know that the Master doesn't like agents talking with each other about their exploits. Well, my exploits, you most likely have none to speak of."

Askia finally let his annoyance with Tadashi control him. He grabbed the arrogant man by the collar and held him close to his face. "You fool. I've served the Village Hidden in the Rain faithfully for years with an exemplary record. I served under Lord Pain, even under those fools on the Council of Seven. I've been around far too long for you to question me."

Tadashi snorted and flipped his shoulder length black hair. "Really now? Why don't you prove it?"

Suddenly the door to the audience chamber opened but there was no one standing there. Instead a voice boomed out from within the room. "Askia! Tadashi! Stop this now! I can't have my left and right hands trying to kill each other!"

Askia let Tadashi go. The voice boomed out from the audience chamber again. "Good. Now Askia, come in and give your report."

Askia walked into the audience chamber, the door closing behind him as he stepped in. A spotlight illuminated Askia as he kneeled at the front of the chamber. At the back of the chamber was the silhouette of man sitting on a raised platform, behind a thin curtain that hid his features. This man was known only as the Master. He had risen to power in the Hidden Rain a few months ago, overthrowing the Council of Seven in a bloodless coup. No one knew who exactly he was or where he came from. The only things that were known about him were that he was powerful and that he claimed to be an agent of peace, a claim that most of the village believed, including Askia.

Askia heard the sound of a tea cup being put down emanating from behind the curtain. "Tell me of your mission to the Hidden Leaf, Askia. Did you succeed?"

"I did my lord," Askia said. "I retrieved a sample of Neji Hyuga's DNA just as you requested."

Askia stood and took a few steps forward. He placed a small vial on the floor and stepped back, returning to a kneeling position.

The Master waved his hand and the vial floated through the curtain to him. "Askia, did you run into any complications?"

Askia grimaced, he wasn't used to bungling missions like this. "Yes, my lord. I was spotted in the act of obtaining the sample. The Hidden Leaf knows of what I did, though they do not know the reason behind it or my identity."

The Master was silent for several moments. "Well, that's unfortunate. However, it shouldn't pose a problem." There was a soft sound of glass tapping stone as the vial was put down. "Askia, how are you? Have you been sleeping well?"

Askia's eyes widened in surprise. "My Lord, how did you know? I haven't slept well for a couple of weeks now."

"I see," the Master said. "Askia, remember that our missions will make this world a better place. Now, I have an important mission for you." He waved his hand and the doors opened again. "Tadashi, come in!"

Tadashi walked into the room and kneeled next to Askia, though he positioned himself so that he was ever so slightly further forward than Askia. Askia silently scoffed at this.

The Master stood from his seat. "Askia, Tadashi, you are my two best agents. I'm sending you on a very important mission together."

The two shinobi responded, "yes, sir."

* * *

Neji

Neji could feel himself coming to consciousness. His unfocused eyes saw only vague shapes and dim light. Was he just waking up? He ran through his memories. The last thing he remembered was the war, the battle against the Ten-Tails. He remembered taking an attack for Naruto, and laying in his arms as his body failed. Then, nothing.

Perhaps he was saved, perhaps someone had revived him. But his body didn't feel weak or sore, in fact it felt stronger than ever before. He was slowly able to look down. If he had just been revived why was standing up? When he saw his hand he realized just what this was.

He watched as his hand formed, coalescing itself from surrounding dust and material. That confirmed it. Neji was the subject of the Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation.

Returning his hand to his side Neji looked out in front of him. His eyes, now focused and used to the low light in the room, saw a man, the features of his face hidden in shadows. Neji supposed that he was the summoner.

This man put his hands on his hips. "Good, I see that it worked." He began to walk in a large circle around Neji. "I must admit that I wasn't planning on putting you to use quite yet. However, complications that arose from my most recent mission that put me in a bit of a situation. One where the Byakugan would be of use."

Neji stood where he was, his shoulders slumped, finding it difficult to move his body. "What is the date? Is the war over? Did we win?"

The summoner laughed as he continued his circle. "Oh, yes, we won. We wouldn't be here now if we hadn't. But that is ancient history and all rather irrelevant at the moment."

Neji tried to turn to face the man but found it impossible to do so. "What of my friends? Family?"

The man laughed again. "They also are not very relevant."

Neji scowled. "Then what is relevant? Who are you?"

The summoner stopped, somewhere behind Neji judging from the sound. "You may call me The Master. As to relevancy, I will show you. But first things first."

Neji heard the man walk closer to him and felt his finger as he traced an elaborate symbol on his back with chakra. "There," the man said, "that should keep you well behaved. Now, follow me."

Neji heard the man walk away from him and open a door. Acting of its own accord, Neji's body moved to follow. They made their way down hall after hall. After passing by several open doors and large rooms with no people Neji came to the realization that he had no clue where he was. Most likely he had never been to this place before.

After the sixth or seventh hallway they came to a stop at an open door, which the summoner walked through. Neji followed suit and he was surprised to find a bedchamber. One corner was heavily damaged, most likely by an explosion, emanating from a large metal door in the floor.

The summoner walked over to the far wall, still facing away from Neji. "I'm searching for a way into this vault. When me and my men first arrived we attempted to open the door but paper bombs hidden on the door detonated, killing three of my agents." Judging from his tone of voice the man wasn't very concerned with the loss.

Neji looked at the door. "So what do you want me to do about it?"

"The door is fused shut, but I don't need you for that. You see, I want to see what else in the vault or if there is an easier way in. That's where those eyes of your's come in."

Neji nodded. "Understood." Activating his Byakugan, he scanned the vault, though to call it that would be an understatement. It was a massive underground complex in and of itself. "The walls of the vault are infused with some kind of chakra. It would be impossible to try and enter by any means other than the door. There are also traps of various kinds. Pits filled with snakes and spikes. Trip wires connected to kunai and poison dart launchers. Near the vault door are paper bombs that appear to designed in a very specific fashion. I believe that they are meant to detonate as soon as anyone steps inside. The blast would then be directed out of the vault, killing anyone in this room.

The summoner nodded. "I see. I'll call you the next time I need your services." The man made a few hand signs and Neji felt himself fade away.


	8. First Steps

VIII: First Steps

Sarada

It was early morning and Sarada was at the training ground where her father had first showed the Fireball Jutsu. Yesterday she had come here to practice for several hours. When she came home her mother had treated her burns and warned her about overusing her chakra. But she had to perfect the jutsu before her father left, she had to show that she was a true Uchiha.

School was going to start soon and Sarada needed to leave. She attempted the jutsu one final time. She went through the motions and the flames danced over the surface of the water, just as they had done for her father when he demonstrated the technique. She held the jutsu for about half a minute before she relinquished it.

After staring blankly at the water, blinking a couple of times, she realized that she had done it. She had mastered the Fireball Jutsu. Sarada jumped, ran around, and waved her arms in a manic euphoria. She suddenly fell to her knees as the chakra depletion hit her. Now she saw what her mother had warned her about. A properly done Fireball Jutsu took a significant amount of chakra and that combined with her usage over the past few days had left her exhausted. But she had to be at school soon. Taking a moment to compose herself, she began to head in the direction of the academy.

As usual Sarada was among the first to arrive to her class. She took her seat towards the front and to the side and watched as the other student filed in. Most of the 30 students in the class were what the young Uchiha referred to as ninja-fans, civilian-born students who only enrolled because they thought that ninja were cool.

Settling herself into her seat Sarada prepared for the day. She watched and listened as the other kids came in. After a few moments one of ninja-fanboys had started one of their favorite conversations. Who is best greatest Hokage?

The conversation quickly grew to involve most of the boys in the class and even a few of girls, whether they liked it or not. After several moments of the fanboys talking with each other in circular arguments Ronin Moto walked into the room. Ronin was one of a handful of the civilian-borns who had Sarada's respect. He worked hard and was highly intelligent, the only person to consistently outscore her on written tests. However, his physical conditioning was poor, dragging his grades towards the middle of the class, and he seemed to hold nearly everyone around him in near perpetual disdain.

"Hey, Ronin," one of the fanboys yelled at him from across the room, "who do you think is the best Hokage?"

Ronin walked over to the group and sat himself on a nearby desk. "Its the Fourth Hokage, obviously."

One of the fanboys who had claimed that earlier looked at his fellows. "Told you."

Another fanboy held out his hand to hush the other. "Why?"

Ronin shrugged. "The First Hokage came from the Senju Clan and had the Wood Style Kekkai Genkai. The Second was also from the Senju and was the First's younger brother. The Third came from the Sarutobi Clan. The Fifth was from the Senju and she was the First's granddaughter. The Sixth had a legendary ninja as a father and he also possessed the Sharingan. The Seventh is a jinchuriki and the son of the Fourth. The Fourth Hokage alone did not have famous ninja pedigree and he possessed no unique, innate abilities. He became everything he was based on his own work and talent."

The fanboys all murmured amongst themselves for a moment, seemingly stumped by a well made argument. Then a girl sitting at the edge of the group spoke up. "Well, I think the Lady Fifth is the best Hokage! She's the prettiest!"

Sarada sighed. That was Natsuko Taka, among the worst of the ninja-fans. She was annoyingly bubbly and happy all the time. Sarada was convinced that if she ever became a shinobi she would collapse under the mental strain.

Ronin apparently had a similar opinion because he shook his head and walked away from the fanboys to take his seat. The fanboys, for their part, let him go and returned to their own conversations.

With about five minutes left before class started the last of the students walked. Bolt Uzamaki walked in with a swagger as if he owned the place. Sarada watched him intently, as she found herself doing often. The boy was a unrepentant prankster and Sarada thought that his behavior was not fitting for the son of the Hokage. However, Sarada had come to realize the reason behind his behavior. Much like Sarada herself, Bolt pined for the attention of a father that was too busy to pay that much attention to him, a father that had taken upon himself responsibilities that took away from time with his family. Bolt took his seat in the middle of classroom, where everyone could see him.

Finally, just as class was to start, the teacher walked in. Shino Aburame was a strange one. While he was obviously skilled and capable, his affinity for insects and the visor that covered his eyes were off putting. He was always willing to help, but was sparing with words of praise and encouragement. Shino walked behind his desk at the front of the class.

"This marks the beginning of your week long study period. Why? Because your graduation exam is being held a week from now. Take your time to prepare by whatever means necessary over the next several days, because this exam is your first major milestone in becoming a ninja."

Shino moved to sit down and Sarada thought that she heard Bolt stifle a giggle behind her. However, when Shino sat down without any incident she heard a "huh" coming from him.

Shino looked directly at the blonde prankster. "Were you expecting something?"

Bolt put his hands up defensively. "Oh, no, sensei, not at all."

"Good," Shino said. "But I thought that I should return this." However, the voice came from behind Bolt.

Everyone turned to see a copy of Shino standing behind of Bolt. He placed a tack in Bolt's hand and then dispersed into a cloud of insects that returned to the real Shino. After everyone got over being throughly creeped out and intimidated they went about the business of studying.

The ninja-fans sat about the class talking with each other, not really doing anything to prepare. Those that took their training seriously left to one of the practice areas scattered around the school or to talk with Shino. Shikadai Nara sat in a desk in the back corner of the room and napped. Sarada still wasn't sure how someone that ludicrously lazy had not failed out of the program.

Sarada herself would normally have been doing something productive with her time. However, the idea of showing her father the results of her hard work and practice consumed her thoughts. She ran through various scenarios in her mind. Ones where he was impressed with her work and taught her how to use Sharingan. Ones where he promised to stay at home and teach her. Ones where he was disappointed and never taught her again, or cast her out of the clan.

"Sarada, is something wrong?"

The young Uchiha was interrupted from her thoughts by Shino, standing in front of her desk.

Sarada tried her best to look busy, picking up pencil and paper. "No, Shino-sensei, everything's fine."

"Does it have something to do with your father?" Shino asked.

The pencil that Sarada had in her hand dropped.

"Sarada," Shino said, "your father has trouble showing his feelings to anyone. But he loves you. Remember that."

Sarada looked up at her teacher. "Thank you, Shino-sensei."

Shino nodded and walked back to his desk. Sarada looked up at the clock. She was surprised to see that the day was halfway over. She spent the rest of her day trying to focus on a set of advanced theoretical problems. Nothing that would ever be on the graduation exam but something that could force her mind off of her father. Keep her from getting nervous about showing him her Fireball Jutsu.

A couple more hours passed and school was out. Sarada gathered up everything and bolted out the building. She made a beeline for her home. When she arrived she stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. There was no guarantee that her father was home, and her mother was almost certainly at work. She stepped into the entrance hall. There was one pair of sandals on the floor. That supported the theory that her father was home. Then she saw the sword on the wall. That confirmed it.

Sarada began to rush through the house. After checking several rooms she found him sitting in the family shrine meditating. She slowed herself to a walk and approached her father to speak with him.

"Yes, Sarada?" Sarada's eyes widened as her father addressed before she had even announced herself.

"P-Papa.," Sarada stammered out, "I-I got the Fireball Jutsu down, I want to show you."

Sasuke turned his head to look at Sarada. "Very well. I will prepare shortly and then we can leave." He looked down at her feet. "Though it seems that you're ready to go."

Sarada looked down at her feet and realized that she had forgotten to take her sandals off when she came running in to find her father. "Oops, sorry Papa."

Sasuke stood up and began to walk towards the front door. He stopped to put on his sandals and grab his sword, then the two of them together began to head towards the training ground. Sarada trailed behind her father, prepping herself and remembering what Shino had told her. Her father loved her.

When they arrived at the lake on the training ground Sarada ran ahead of her father to the edge of the pier. She watched as Sasuke took up a seat at the water's edge.

Sarada went through the hand signs. She inhaled and gathered chakra in her chest. She felt herself move it up her neck. She exhaled and yelled "Fire Syle: Fireball Jutsu." Pushing the chakra out of her mouth and igniting it into flame, she saw fire dance across the water. She held it for a minute as the flames billowed forth and danced on the water, the light reflecting on the surface.

When she stopped the jutsu she watched it fade away and disappear as if no flame had ever been there at all. She turned and looked expectantly at her father. Her heart dropped as she watched him calmly stand up and walk over to her. When she saw him standing over her she thought that she had disappointed him. She closed her eyes.

"That's my girl." Sarada opened her eyes as her father placed his hand on her head and mussed her hair. The girl shook her head to remove the intrusive hand and straightened her hair. She then smiled and hugged her father.

Sasuke returned the hug and patted her back. "Come on Sarada. Let's go home."

With her father's arm around her shoulder, they began to walk back towards home. Walking. A mundane activity that Sarada had been doing for as long as she could remember. But this felt different. It was as if she were just starting her life and these were her first steps.


	9. For a Kage

IX: For a Kage

Gaara

Gaara stood in the mausoleum of the Tsuchikage in the Village Hidden in the Stones. Today the funeral of Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, would be held.

It was late in the afternoon as the ceremony began. The body would be interred next to the two previous Tsuchikage, with all of the living Kage performing the rites. This was a policy that had been implemented by Five Great Shinobi Nations at the first Kage Summit to be held in the aftermath of the Fourth Great Ninja. Whenever a Kage died his peers would gather in his village for the funeral, separate from the ceremony held by the family or for the public.

The lid was open, the body of Onoki visible. The deceased are supposed to look regal and composed, but Gaara thought that the old man only looked as obstinate and stubborn as ever, as if he were going to jump out of the coffin and laugh at death itself for thinking it could detain him. Gaara supposed that was part of what made the man so great. Onoki had been the longest reigning Kage for a reason.

The Kage stood in a circle around the coffin, each wearing the robes of their office and headbands bearing their village's symbol. At the head stood Kurotsuchi, the Fourth and reigning Tsuchikage. To her left stood Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, and Chojuro, the Sixth and reigning Mizukage. To their left, continuing around the circle, were the three Hokage, Tsunade the Fifth, Kakashi the Sixth, and Naruto the Seventh and reigning. Continuing around the circle was Gaara himself, the Fifth and reigning Kazekage. To his left and Kurotsuchi's right were Ay, the Fourth Raikage, and Darui, the Fifth and reigning Raikage.

Kurotsuchi stepped forward and as the reigning Tsuchikage began to give the eulogy. Gaara, for his part, paid no attention to it. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to think about his own time with Onoki. He had met him at the Kage Summit shortly before the outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War. The age gap and difference in experience had exasperated a difference in world view that initially caused friction between the two. Onoki thought his young counterpart from the Sand ill-prepared for his job, a boy playing at being Kage. Gaara, in turn, thought the Tsuchikage an old and done man who had abandoned his principles when they became inconvenient. But then the war came and like it did for so many other things it changed the relationship between them. Gaara saw the strength of will and the ability of Onoki, and came to respect it. Onoki also saw that Gaara possessed a strength of character and wisdom far beyond his years. They became close friends, possibly the closest that Gaara had among any of the Kage besides Naruto. Gaara opened his eyes as the eulogy was finished.

Kurotsuchi stepped towards the coffin and placed her headband in with the body. She then used her chakra to lower the lid of the coffin from the ceiling and over the body. When the sarcophagus was sealed shut the other Kage stepped forward. They removed their headbands, a symbol of their unity, no longer being divided by it. Each group of Kage, corresponding to their village of origin, took out sealing paper and placed it alongside the edges of the coffin. They each poured their chakra into their respective sealing papers, empowering and activating the seals. Now the body was protected from looters and grave robbers, it would take an incredible amount of power or the cooperation of those who had taken part in the funeral.

This was the product of another policy set during the first post-war Kage Summit. In order to prevent the Reanimation Jutsu from being abused it was decided that any individual deemed as having Kage level power and ability would having powerful seals placed over their final resting place so that getting the DNA samples needed to perform the jutsu would be more difficult. This was the first time that the policy had been enacted for a Kage.

After the funeral the five reigning Kage gathered in an upper chamber of the Tsuchikage residence for a short Kage Summit. There were no pressing issues to discuss but it was rare for all of them to be at one place at one time.

The five shinobi leaders sat around a small table. As the host of the Summit the Tsuchikage got to speak first. "Well, with my grandfather's death my people are in mourning, but we continue with our day to day operations. I have no issues to discuss here. Are there any concerns that would be brought before the summit?"

Naruto raised his hand. "Yes, I have one. Shortly before I left for the funeral I was hearing reports that the Village Hidden in the Rain has gone dark. Have any of you guys heard about this?"

Kurotsuchi leaned on the table with her elbow. "We haven't had contact with them for a while, though we usually only communicate with each other when we have direct need for the other."

"We have a similar understanding with them," Gaara said.

Darui shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it appears that this is just an abnormally long period of silence from the Rain. We probably shouldn't think anything of it."

Naruto stood up. "Hold on, this came from a source that I trust. If they said this then there must be something to it. Besides, the last time that the Hidden Rain cut themselves off from the world the Akutsuki formed and my village was almost completely annihilated because of that."

"I agree," Chojuro said, "we should investigate this. However, we're the furthest away from the Hidden Rain, we are in no position to do anything about it."

Kurotsuchi placed a hand on her chin in thought. "Well, the Hidden Stone, Leaf, and Sand are the closest. Therefore we're in the best position to investigate this. But who does the investigating?"

Gaara was the one to provide an answer. "I suggest that we form a joint mission to investigate the Hidden Rain together."

Naruto nodded. "I agree."

Kurotsuchi shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, why not?"

The three then took out a map and agreed on a time and place for their teams to meet for their joint mission. After that matter was settled and few other small issues taken care of the Kage summit was adjorned and the Kage went there separate ways. Night had fallen and the five of them headed for their lodging for the night to rest and head home on the morrow.


	10. Home

X: Home

Naruto

It was four days after the funeral of Onoki. The Hokage had returned to the Village Hidden in the Leaves without much incidence. Arriving late the previous night, Naruto had gone straight to bed, taking but a moment to meet back up with the family. This morning he was to brief with Shikamaru and Sasuke about what had happened in the village during his absence.

Naruto opened the door to his office and walked to his desk. He was followed in by Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Shizune. Taking a seat at his desk, Naruto folded his hands together placed his elbows on his desk.

"Alright," he said, "what do you have for me?"

Shikamaru was the first to speak. "I'll get the easy stuff out of the way first. There was nothing significant in terms of missions, only a smattering of C and D ranks. There were, however, a string of unusual events that require your attention."

Naruto nodded. "Go ahead."

"Well," Shikamaru said, "we received a message from Orochimaru."

One of Naruto's eyebrows raised and he crossed his arms. "From Orochimaru? What did it say?"

Shikamaru turned to Shizune and nodded, who went to open the door. "The messenger refused to give it to anyone but you. All we know is that the Hidden Sound was attacked and that Orochimaru is assumed KIA."

Shizune stepped back into the office with a jonin from the Hidden Sound following close behind.

The jonin walked to the center of the room and bowed. "Lord Hokage, it is good to finally see you." The Sound ninja pulled a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto grabbed the scroll and unsealed it. Upon reading the first few lines his eyes widened in shock. He looked back up at the messenger. "Thank you for bringing this to me, you may leave now."

The messenger bowed again and then left the room, escorted by Shizune.

Naruto finished reading the message and then placed it on the table. He folded his hands together under his chin and looked at Shikamaru, then Sasuke. "Orochimaru claims that the person who attacked the Hidden Sound possesses the Rinnegan."

Sasuke showed barely any reaction to this news at all, but Shikamaru had look of shock on his face. "The Rinnegan? But the only person alive who has that is…" He looked over at Sasuke.

The Uchiha looked back at Shikamaru and tsked. "It wasn't me, I can tell you that much."

"He's right," Naruto said, "the message says that the attacker had the Rinnegan in both eyes, it couldn't have been Sasuke."

Shikamaru calmed down. "Can we trust this information? It is coming from Orochimaru, after all."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Your right, I still don't trust that snake. But if the Hidden Sound has been attacked by a Rinnegan user then we have to look into it."

Sasuke took a step forward. "I can go."

Naruto looked at his rival in surprise. "You?"

"I was his student," Sasuke said, "I understand how he operates better than anyone here."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "True, but I have a different mission in mind for you." At that moment Shizune came back into the office. Naruto turned his attention to his assistant. "Shizune, go and get Kakashi-sensei for me, please." Shizune nodded and left the room again.

Naruto looked up at his advisor. "Shikamaru, do we know anything else about this."

"We sent out an ANBU team to the Hidden Sound to observe the situation there. They haven't reported in yet, so at this point we have to assume that they are dead or captured."

Naruto sat and thought about this for a moment. "Alright, I have an idea. But lets move on for right now."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto for a moment, as if her trying to gauge what plan the Hokage had, but then he shrugged. "Alright, we also had an incident of grave robbing."

Naruto had very confused look on his face. "Grave robing? Shouldn't this be handled by the Military Police or something?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes. "Normally, yes, but we made an exception for this. The suspect was a highly skilled ninja, and his target was Neji's body."

Naruto made a fist and his right hand and it began to shake as he felt his anger rising. "Shikamaru, tell me that we know who did it and that we've caught him."

Shikamaru, seemingly oblivious to Naruto's seething rage, continued talking. "No, we don't know who did it. We were able to create something of a profile on him based on information from Hinata's account of her battle with him and…"

Naruto stood up and slammed his fist into his desk. "Are you telling me that he attacked my wife?!"

Shikamaru put his hands in front of him in a panicky, defensive manner. "No, no! She attacked him when she caught him robbing Neji's grave."

Naruto slowly began to calm himself and he sat back down in his chair. "Do we know anything about him?"

Shikamaru returned to his normal, relaxed stance. "We know that he has great skill in infiltration and earth style ninjutsu. We have all squad leaders on lookout for anyone who matches those descriptors, but there isn't much we can do."

Naruto, having completely calmed down, checked his desk to make sure he hadn't damaged it. "Fine. What else?"

"This last bit is perhaps the strangest of the lot," Shikamaru said, "though I think that Sasuke should start."

Naruto turned his attention to the Uchiha.

"It happened the day that you left," Sasuke said. "There were a group of about two dozen Rain shinobi approaching the village. When a squad of ANBU and I confronted them they retreated without any incident."

Naruto looked at his friend, somewhat confused. "Ok, and…"

Shikamaru picked up where Sasuke left off. "They left behind the body of Jiraiya, which they had somehow and for some reason regenerated to an earlier state of decomposition."

Naruto turned his attention to Shikamaru, and though his expression of confusion remained it was now mixed with a bit of bewilderment. "An earlier state of what now?"

Shikamaru sighed. "It doesn't look like he's been dead for as long as he has."

Naruto's face returned to normal as he comprehended the simpler explanation. "I want to see the body as soon as possible. But first I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei. Speaking of which."

The door to the office opened and Shizune walked in, accompanied by Kakashi.

Naruto looked up at his former teacher. "Kakashi-sensei, I know that this is kind of weird, but I have a mission for you."

Kakashi looked at his successor with a look of mild surprise. "Um…what do you need?"

Naruto leaned in. "There was an attack on the Village Hidden in the Sound. We have reason to believe that Orochimaru is dead and that the attacker had the Rinnegan. Of course, all the information we have on this comes from Orochimaru's messenger so we don't know how trustworthy this is."

"Alright," Kakashi said, "is there anything else we know?"

Shikamaru spoke up. "We sent an ANBU team to the Hidden Sound a week ago but haven't heard anything back. Finding them should be a considered a priority."

Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Considering that this involves Orochimaru and possibly the Rinnegan, on top of the lack of good information, this is a S-Rank mission. I think you're the best suited for the job."

"Understood," Kakashi said. "Is this a solo mission?"

"No, I'm giving you a squad of three, all jonin," Naruto replied. "Tenten, Ino, and Mirai as an attachment from the Hokage guard. She'd kill me if I sent you on a mission without her," Naruto said with a smile.

Kakashi turned around and started to walk towards the door. "I'll be at the main gate, waiting for my team."

Naruto turned to Shikamaru. "Go and collect the rest of that squad."

Shikamaru nodded and left the room.

Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I have a very important mission for you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "A mission? I don't think you've ever sent me on one."

"Well, now seems a good time to start," Naruto said. "Besides, you're the best suited for this mission. I'm sending you to investigate the situation in the Village Hidden in the Rain."

Naruto stood and opened a drawer on his desk, pulled out a map, and laid it on the table. "We're running a joint mission with the Hidden Stone and Sand to find out what's happening in the Hidden Rain. We are to meet in one week to begin the mission."

Sasuke looked at the map. "You want me to be the Leaf's representative on this mission?"

Naruto nodded. "You, Sai, and Yamato. You're to meet in the Land of Earth at a secret staging area that the Stone set up during the Second Great Ninja War."

Sasuke studied the map for a moment. "Alright, but if the mission starts in a week why are you telling me now?"

Naruto put the map away in his desk. "You know more about this situation than anyone else and I want you to find out as much as you can."

Sasuke stood there quietly for a moment before speaking. "I'll do it." Sasuke began to walk out of the room, but before he reached the door he turned to face Naruto. "Naruto, you remember that promise, right?"

Naruto held up a thumbs up. "Of course," he said with a smile.

Sasuke nodded and then left the room.

Shizune watched Sasuke leave and then turned to Naruto. "What promise is he talking about?"

Naruto looked over to his assistant. "Hm? Oh, nothing. Come on, I want to see Pervy Sage."

Naruto and Shizune made their way to the hospital, where they were greeted in the lobby by Sakura, who then guided them down to the morgue.

When they stepped into the room Sakura went to get the body out of storage while Naruto and Shizune stood at the door. Sakura found the proper shelf and drew out the table. After folding the cover at the waist she went back to the door.

Naruto slowly walked over to the body, his eyes welling with tears with each step until he stood over the body. He stared at it, letting the memories come to him.

After a few moments of this Naruto spoke. "Good to see you, Pervy Sage. You look almost exactly as I remember, though I'm sure I'd look different to you. I did it. I beat Pain. I took down the Akutsuki. I saved the world. I saved Sasuke. I became Hokage. I became a father and a husband. Everything you hoped and dreamed for me came true."

After lingering there for a few moments more in silence Naruto dried out his eyes and turned away. He slowly walked towards the door. When he reached Sakura he stopped.

"Put him where he belongs, with every honor that we can give him," he said without looking at her.

Sakura looked at him with a surprised expression. "Yes, but…are you sure, Naruto?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "I made my peace with this a long time ago. I'm just glad that he got to come home."


	11. At the Gates

XI: At the Gates

Kakashi

Kakashi stood at the village gates, weapons packed and ready for use and headband tied on, looking at the Hokage monument as his team prepared for the mission. He couldn't help but admire the squad that Naruto had put together for him. Mirai, with her wind style jutsu and trench knives, was highly skilled in close combat while Tenten could provide mid-range support and Ino filled several supplemental roles, with her healing, reconnaissance abilities, and providing quick communication with the village.

Tenten, having taken final inventory of her massive stockpile of weaponry, tied on her headband and looked at Kakashi. "What's the low down, Kakashi-sensei? This involves Orochimaru, right?"

Kakashi looked down from the Hokage Monument. "Yes, it does involve Orochimaru, though in what capacity we're not entirely sure. I have to say that I'm sorry we dragged you away from your shop."

Tenten smiled and waved away the notion. "Oh, you know that its just something that I run in my downtime. I don't get that much business anyway."

Kakashi looked over at Ino. "How's it going with Inojin? Still doing well in the academy?"

Ino nodded as she packed away her store of kunai, shuriken, and medical supplies. "He's doing well, near the top of the class. He's going to be spending the next little while with Shikamaru, since I'm going with you and Sai has another, secret mission that he's starting soon."

Kakashi smiled at that and then turned his attention to Mirai. "You ready?"

Mirai, who had already finished packing and was leaning against the gates, smiled. "I'm always ready."

Kakashi nodded and waved his team over for a briefing. "Here's the situation. We have received word that the Village Hidden in the Sound that they have come under attack. According to them the assailant possesses the Rinnegan and Orochimaru is most likely dead."

Ino and Tenten's eyes widened in surprise, though Mirai didn't react. "What? Are you sure? You know we can't trust anything that comes from Orochimaru!" Ino said. Tenten nodded in agreement.

"I know," Kakashi said, "but if the Hidden Sound has been attacked and Orochimaru is dead we cannot let that situation sit. Furthermore, we sent an ANBU team to scout the village but we haven't heard from them."

Tenten clenched her teeth. "Then they're probably dead."

Kakashi held up his hand, fingers closed into a loose fist. "First, we are to scout the Hidden Sound and ascertain what happened there." He held up one finger. "Then we are to find if Orochimaru is truly dead and, if possible, secure the body and seal it." He put up a second finger to signify that it was the secondary objective. "Finally, we to find out what happened to the recon squad." He then put up a third finger. "Is that understood?" When the other three nodded he returned his hand to his side.

Kakashi looked between his squad members, gauging their emotional state. Ino and Tenten both appeared tense, while Mirai exuded an air of cool confidence. "Alright, now for the formation. Mirai, you take point. Stay ahead of the rest of the group. With your close combat skills I want you to be the first to hit any enemies we encounter. The rest of us will follow in a flat three. Tenten, you'll be on the left side of the formation, guard our flank and support Mirai. I'll do the same from the right side. Ino, you'll be in the middle of the formation, ready to provide support to whoever needs it. Everyone got that?"

The three jonin nodded in confirmation. "Good," Kakashi said. "Move out!"

The four Leaf shinobi took off, heading in the direction of the Hidden Sound.

* * *

Sasuke

Sasuke walked with his family towards the village gates, ready to leave and continue his journeys. At least that was the official story, in truth he was to take part in a reconnaissance mission into the Hidden Rain and would be spending the next week gathering as much information as he could on them.

They soon arrived at the gates and, after quickly taking care of the necessary paperwork, Sasuke said goodbye to his family.

Sarada, though she had long since stopped crying on the occasions of her father leaving the village, still showed signs of sadness at the event. Sasuke knelt down and gave her a tender hug.

"You don't have to go, right, Papa?" Sarada asked.

Sasuke looked at his daughter, wishing that he could say that he didn't but knowing that he did for many reasons. "Sarada, I must leave, and I hope that you'll understand why."

Sasuke stood up and faced his wife. She smiled at him. "You take care of yourself now, Sasuke. We'll be here when you get back." They shared a long hug and a quick kiss.

With his goodbyes said Sasuke turned to leave. However, he hadn't gone twenty paces when he heard Sarada running behind him, yelling.

"Wait, Papa!" Sasuke turned and looked at her. She stopped in front of her father and calmed herself. "Papa, when can I learn Sharingan?"

Sasuke looked down at her, mildly surprised. He had never spoken to Sarada on this subject. Had teaching her the Fireball Jutsu brought this out?

Sasuke knelled down so that his face was level with Sarada's. "Sarada, the Sharingan is not something that can be learned, there are certain circumstances that must be met for the Sharingan to be attained."

Sarada's eyes widened, this was more than she had ever heard about the Sharingan from Sasuke. "How do I attain it?"

"I cannot tell you," Sasuke said, "and in truth I hope you never attain those eyes. However, if you do, there are a few things that I want you to do."

Sarada started to look more excited. "What do want me to do, Papa?"

Sasuke sat there quietly for a moment. "First, I want you to find Kakashi and have him teach you."

Sarada looked back at her father, dipping her head to the side in confusion. "Grandpa Kakashi has Sharingan?"

"No," Sasuke said flatly, "but he once did and he wielded it better than many Uchiha. He can teach how to use your abilities. Secondly there is a tablet, inside of hidden room underneath the family alter. After gaining the Sharingan I want you to read it. Ask your mother, she knows where it is and how to get to it."

Sarada nodded. "I understand, Papa."

Sasuke stood up and silently began to walk away, leaving behind his friends, family, and village once again.


	12. The First Move

XII: The Frist Move

Kakashi

It was just past noon and Kakashi and his team were making good time as they moved towards the Village Hidden in the Sound. There had been no sign of any enemies, though they had yet to leave the Land of Fire. Kakashi had the feeling that things would heat up before it was over.

"Lord Hokage!" Kakashi heard from ahead of him.

"Yes, Mirai?"

The young jonin looked over her shoulder at Kakashi, wearing a smile. "I told we could have made it to the Final Valley quicker."

Kakashi laughed. "I never doubted you on that count."

The Final Valley was less than half an hour of ahead of them, then they would be in the Land of Sound and the chance of an enemy encounter would rise. After a few more moments Kakashi thought he felt a presence behind the group. Putting up his hand he called for a halt.

As the rest of the squad gathered around him Tenten was the one to speak up. "What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi shifted his gaze back and forth, searching for anything in the surrounding forest. "I think that we're being watched."

"Earth Style: Abyss!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he heard the name of an unfamiliar jutsu. He started to even more desperately search for the intruder, but he didn't have a chance to look very far. The ground beneath their feet suddenly opened up, revealing a gigantic chasm with seemingly no bottom.

Before Kakashi had time to react the squad had already fallen several dozen feet. He watched as Ino attempted to cling to the walls with her chakra but it merely slowed her down before it pushed her away. Kakashi then twisted his body to move alongside the wall.

Quickly going through a series of hand signs, Kakashi yelled, "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" The wall of rock sprung from the side of the chasm, creating a makeshift floor that the squad landed on.

Tenten, having taken a rough landing, rubbed her backside. "What was that?"

Ino, who had landed with a bit more grace and was slowly rising, responded. "I think that someone just attacked us. I'm amazed that they were able to use a jutsu of this scale."

Mirai, who had been the first besides Kakashi to regain their feet, pulled out one of her trench knives and focused her chakra into it. Swinging it at the walls of the small canyon it merely bounced off the surface. "This is no ordinary rock face."

Kakashi ran his hand along the wall closest to him, studying the jutsu. "It appears that there is chakra coursing through the earth, allowing the user to manipulate it but also preventing anyone from damaging it and repulsing any attempts to cling to the rock with chakra."

Tenten looked up at the top the chasm, a few hundred feet above them. "Impressive, but how do we get out of here?"

"Well, we could climb out," Ino said, "but without our chakra it would be risky."

Tenten unsealed one of her explosive kunai and threw it at a portion of wall away from the squad. It detonated in a massive explosion, leaving a barely scratched rock face behind. "Paper bombs aren't going to work."

"Well, if it isn't the Copy Nina Kakashi, though I guess you aren't doing much copying these days."

Kakashi looked up to the top of the chasm. There was a man, presumably the one who cast the jutsu, there looking down at them.

Kakashi tried to study the man but with the distance and dim light in the chasm it was difficult to pick out details. "You seem to know who I am, now who are you?"

After a moment of silence a response came. "Why the hell would I tell you that?"

Then a thought came to Kakashi's mind. This individual had managed to get near the group without anyone noticing before it was too late and attacked them with an extremely advanced earth jutsu. Could this be the grave robber that Shikamaru was looking for?

"I'd love to stay and chat," the man said, "but I'm not going to take a chance with the Sixth Hokage. Earth Style: Tectonic Shift!"

Suddenly the ground around them began to shift as the walls of the chasm closed in around them.

Tenten nearly lost her footing before regaining her balance. "He's going to crush us!"

Kakashi reacted quickly. Forming a tiger seal he unleashed the Fireball Jutsu, ensuring that the fire engulfed as wide an area as possible. Using the fire as a distraction and cover he then went through a series of hand signs that were almost second nature to him.

"Lighting Blade!"

Kakashi poured more chakra into the jutsu, attempting to maximize its cutting power and width. Then he used it on the wall, burrowing through it and leaving a small tunnel in his wake. He continued to dig out his tunnel as the rest of the team hurried in after him.

After a few minutes of burrowing with the Lighting Blade they finally broke through to the surface. It took a few seconds for them to regain their bearings.

"We're in the Final Valley," Kakashi realized.

Tenten took a few steps forward, looking at the surrounding area. "You think we lost him?"

Mirai pointed up to the cliff on the Land of Sound's side of the border. "Look, we have company."

Kakashi saw this man, slim, with shoulder length black hair. He jumped down from his perch and landed on the opposite bank of this river. As he landed another man emerged from the ground next to him.

The man with black hair smiled at his compatriot. "What was that, my friend? You said that you would take care of them."

The other man, who Kakashi now knew was the one who had attacked them, scoffed at this. "You do realize that this is the Sixth Hokage here, the chances of me killing him were minimal."

"Askia, of course the chances of you killing them were low. With me, on the other hand, the chances are very high."

The one apparently named Askia slapped himself in the forehead. "You fool, it would be better if they didn't know who we are."

The arrogant one stepped forward. "Who am I to deny them the right to know who killed them? I am Tadashi, pleased to make your acquaintance."

Tadashi smiled smugly and bowed before going through a quick succession of hand signs. "Lighting Style: Electric Cage!" He stretched out his hands and streams of electricity came out of them and formed a ring around the squad. He then created a ball of lighting that floated in the middle of the circle.

Tenten pulled out a few shuriken and threw them at Tadashi. When they reached the perimeter of the circle they were knocked out of the air by a bolt of electricity that arced from the ball of lighting in the middle to the ring.

Kakashi looked at their opponents. "Do you work for Orochimaru?"

Tadashi laughed. "No, we don't work for that relic."

Kakashi turned to Mirai. "I believe the honor should be yours."

Mirai smiled and unsheathed her trench knives. She then created wind blades and swung them at the ball of lighting. It sizzled and crackled as it dissipated.

Kakashi tensed his body for combat. "Mirai, you go after the lighting user. Ino, contact the village, let them know we've met the enemy. Tenten, give her cover and then both of you provide support."

Kakashi watched as Mirai rushed forward towards her opponent, who used a Water Wall Jutsu in an attempt to block her. Mirai cut through it with a wind blade and when Tadashi launched kunai at her as she came through she jumped over him, flipping in the air as she launched a fireball from above, which he blocked with another water wall.

With that battle underway Kakashi turned his attention to his opponent, who was hanging back waiting for him to make the first move. Kakashi decided to oblige him. Going quickly through a long series of hand signs he yelled, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" A large sprout of water came from the surface, forming the visage of a dragon, which Kakashi directed towards his opponent.

Askia responded with a mud wall, which the water dragon broke upon. Kakashi then gathered lighting chakra in his hand and released it in the form of a large wolf which he kept tethered to his hand. Sending the lighting wolf forward it crashed through the mud wall and bit into Askia, who then turned to water.

Out of the corner of his eye Kakashi saw a kunai flying out of the water towards him. He was able to quickly draw one of his own and block it before jumping and throwing his knife in retaliation. Askia then emerged from the water and engaged Kakahi in hand to hand combat.

While skilled, it was obvious that Askia's taijutsu ability was inferior to the Sixth Hokage's. Kakashi continually pressed his foe, forcing him further and further back until they were on the bank.

Several shuriken thrown by Tenten came flying in from the side and forced Askia to block them with a small mud wall. Kakashi saw the opening created by that and went for it. Askia was barely able to get a block on it but it also pinned him to his own mud wall. The earthen barrier was suddenly perforated by a series of lighting enhanced kunai launched by Tenten, several of which grazed Kakashi's opponent, though he was able to avoid a direct blow.

Askia broke his block and created separation between himself and Kakashi, putting himself under the nearby cliff side. Tenten threw a large bomb on the rock face and it detonated in a large explosion. Large pieces of the cliff side broke off and landed on top of Askia.

After several moments in which there was no sign of the earth jutsu user Tenten yelled, "I got him!"

Kakashi turned his attention to the other battle. Mirai had her opponent on the ropes as she was going on an all out offensive with her wind blades. Tadashi was putting all of his energy into dodging, unable to go on the attack due to a combination of the wide, sweeping attacks of the wind blades and well aimed shuriken thrown by Ino. To his credit though, Tadashi showed no signs of injury and seemed to be avoiding every attack thrown his way.

Suddenly there was an explosion from the ground beneath Mirai and Tadashi's feet, blowing the two away from each other and throwing Mirai violently into the cliff face. As Tadashi climbed up to his feet Askia emerged from the ground next to him.

"Tadashi," Askia said, "I've received the message. We're done here, the mission is complete. We're to fall back."

Tadashi smirked. "Very well." He turned to the leaf shinobi. "I apologize for cutting this short, though I promise that the next time we meet I will see you safely to your graves." With that Askia grabbed his compatriot by the shoulder and together they disappeared into the earth.

After waiting a few moments to make sure that the enemy had left, Kakashi, Ino, and Tenten rushed over to Mirai.

Ino sat the young Sarutobi up and examined her back. "Looks like moderate blunt force trauma. You're lucky that didn't do damage to your spine. Just hold on a moment." Ino's hands began to glow green as she healed Mirai.

Tenten turned to Kakashi. "What do you think Kakashi-sensei? They both seemed to be at least jonin level."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, they were certainly highly skilled and we know they don't work for Orochimaru."

One of Tenten's eyebrow's rose. "Are you sure we can trust anything they said?"

"He was telling the truth," Ino said, "that man was so arrogant, his ego wouldn't have let him lie about that." After a pause she said, "but at least he was attractive."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, except for the attractive part. Moreover, they were merely delaying us, not trying to stop us. Whoever they work for, they're done with the Village Hidden in the Sound."

"You think there's any worth in continuing to the Sound Village then?" asked Mirai as Ino finished healing her.

Kakashi closed his eyes as he thought for a moment. "We need to check, might be able to figure something out from what they left behind. Is she ready to go, Ino?"

Ino stood up. "Yes, she'll be fine."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Alright then, let's move."

The teams quickly continued on to the Village Hidden in the Sound. As they got closer Kakashi noticed that there were progressively fewer people that they were coming across. When they reached the outskirts of the village Kakashi called for a halt.

"Ino," Kakashi said as they gathered around, "I need you to do some recon in the village."

Ino nodded, then picked out a bird perched in a nearby tree and used her Mind Transfer Jutsu on it. As Ino's body slumped the bird took off in the direction of the Sound Village. After waiting for about 10 minutes Ino returned to consciousness.

Kakashi knelled down beside her. "What did you see?"

Ino looked down at the ground for a moment. "That level of destruction. I haven't seen anything like it since the war. Its something that I don't have the words for."

Kakashi stood up. "Understood. Let's get in there and start searching, we might find something useful."

The other three members of the team stood up and they quickly made their way to the village proper. When they reached the urban areas they all stopped. Everywhere there were buildings flattened and turned to rubble, streets that had giant craters in them. Not a single sign of life was to be seen.

"Ino," Kakashi said, "send a message to the village. Inform them that the Village Hidden in the Sound has been destroyed. We have met the enemy and though we cannot identify them, they have made the first move."


	13. Cruel Twist of Fate

XIII: Cruel Twist of Fate

Neji

Coming out of the darkness Neji could feel himself returning to the land of the living. It seemed that his summoner had need of him again. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Again, they were in a dark room, but it was different from the one they had been in previous. Neji stood in the middle of a large chamber, a man Neji thought to be The Master sitting behind a thin curtain on a raised platform.

"I must thank you," The Master said, "without those eyes of your's we wouldn't have been able to clear out as quickly as we had. The mission was a success thanks to you."

"Glad to be of service," Neji said sarcastically.

The Master sipped a drink. "Now we come to the real purpose for which I…acquired you."

One of Neji's eyebrows raised. "Oh?"

"Indeed," the master replied, "I thought that your skills would be useful for this mission. It also allows for some…delicious irony."

Neji's eyes narrowed, wandering what this man had planned.

The Master took another sip. "But first, some background information. Its been almost 15 years since the Fourth Great Ninja War ended. Shortly after the conflict ended the Fifth Hokage resigned, Kakashi Hatake being named the Sixth. Several years ago he stepped down in favor of Naruto Uzamaki."

The Master placed a hand on his chin. "If I remember correctly, you died protecting him. In any case, he is now the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Neji's eyes rose to look at the The Master. "Good to know, but what of my family?"

The Master removed his hand from his chin. "I was getting to that, for they are relevant to this mission as well. Your dear friend Naruto started a family. With a Hyuga. In fact, your eldest cousin, I believe. She gave up her claim to the Hyuga Clan for him, believe it or not."

Neji smiled at this news, he had been a silent supporter of Hinata's affection for the Uzamaki.

"They now have two children together," The Master said. "Bolt, who I understand is a rambunctious pre-teen boy, and Himawari, an adorable little girl."

Neji looked up at The Master, suspicion in his eyes. "And why is this relevant to my mission, hm? Are you sending me to assassinate Naruto? My cousin? One of their children?"

The Master laughed, his deep, booming voice echoing in the room. "While I could order you to attack him, I won't. I know all too well that a direct confrontation with someone of his power would end only in disaster. All I want is to host a little family reunion for you."

The Master waved his hand and a door behind Neji opened. "Askia, come in!"

A man of average height and build walked into the room and knelt, a little behind and to the right of Neji. "My Lord."

The Master waved his hands and the doors closed again and took another sip from his drink. "Good work with Tadashi on delaying the team from the Leaf, not everyday that you fight the Sixth Hokage. Now I have another mission for you."

"Yes, my Lord." Askia's eyes wandered over to Neji. "Sir, is this…?"

The Master nodded. "Yes. He is to be part of your team for this mission."

Askia's eyes diverted from Neji. "I…see."

The Master leaned over and picked something up. "Askia, you are to take Neji here and head south to the Land of Rivers. You'll rendezvous with one of my agents from the Land of Wind, then continue on to your objective in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. That should keep you out of sight of those extra patrols the Leaf has set up." A scroll floated through the curtains and landed in front of Askia. "That contains the mission details for your eyes only."

Askia grabbed the scroll and stowed it away. "Understood, my Lord."

"Neji," The Master said, "you are to follow Askia here. Obey his will as if it were my own."

Neji looked at Askia out of the corner of his eye. "I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?"

The Master laughed. "You catch on quickly, Hyuga."

A flick of the Master's wrist and the door opened again. "You are dismissed. Prepare and rest for tonight, you leave first thing tomorrow."

Askia stood and bowed before leaving the room. Neji, his body acting of its own accord, turned and followed him out the door. As the door closed shut behind them Askia stopped. He sat on a chair next to the wall and stared out into space for a few moments.

After observing him for some time, Neji spoke. "I don't know what your Master plans for my family but I'm certain that its nothing good."

Askia looked at Neji and then leaned back and closed his eyes. "Sometimes terrible things must be done for a greater good."

Neji stared at his handler for a moment, wishing that he had the ability to strike him now. "But does that make the act any less terrible…or even bearable?"

Askia opened one eye and looked at Neji. "It shouldn't. It is the fact that they are terrible that reminds one that it is sometimes necessary and that they shouldn't be done otherwise."

Neji observed Askia for several more moments. "You must not get a lot of sleep."

Askia yawned as if in answer. "You're right, I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Even without using those eyes of yours you picked up on that. Tell me, are all Hyuga that observant or are you just special?"

Neji decided that he wasn't going to dignify that with an answer. There were then several moments of awkward silence.

Askia yawned, then stood and walked out of the room. "You should get some sleep, long day of travel for us tomorrow."

One of Neji's eyebrow's rose. "Sleep? You do realize that I'm dead, right?"

Askia came to a standstill and looked over his shoulder at Neji. For a moment the Hyuga thought that he saw a glimmer of pity in his eyes. "Right, how silly of me. Go wait for me in the entrance hall then."

Neji sighed as his body followed the compulsion to obey, bemoaning this cruel twist of fate.


	14. The Next Step

XIV: The Next Step

Sarada

Sarada sat in the classroom, waiting for the team assignments to be handed out. It had been two days since the graduation exam had taken place with Sarada passing with flying colors, top of the class, and today the immediate future of the 30 new genin would be decided. The class rankings were posted in the hall outside, with separate lists for the overall scores, theoretical knowledge, physical conditioning, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and weapons proficiency.

A group of ninja-fans sat at the front of the class admiring their new headbands. "These are so cool, man," one of them gushed.

Another one adjusted his. "Yeah, but I wonder why you see so few ninja wearing theirs."

"Its fallen out of style since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War." A voice called from the other side of the room. Sitting there was Ronin, the only student to outscore Sarada on theoretical knowledge, but near the bottom on physical conditioning and slightly above average everywhere else. "With the world mostly being at peace and the Five Great Shinobi Nations allied with each other the precedence for wearing the headbands has lessened. These days most ninja only wear them during missions, when announcing their allegiance is more important."

One of the ninja-fanboys made a face. "Well, that's not cool at all."

Sarada scoffed silently to herself at this and set about watching the other students make their ways in. There were a handful of other students, Ronin being one of them, who truly had Sarada's respect and she that hoped to be assigned to a squad with.

The first of these to walk in was Inojin Yamanaka. The heir to the Yamanaka Clan, he had all around high scores, coming third in the overall class rankings. He came in with Shikadi Nara, who Sarada found to be unreasonably lazy, and Chocho Akimichi, who had been part of the graduating class despite the fact that she was a year younger than everyone else.

One of the ninja-fanboys was apparently thinking the same thing about her. "Hey, Chocho, how come you got to graduate early?"

Chocho winked at the boy and giggled. "Well, I took the test early and I passed, its as simple as that."

The ninja-fanboy sighed at the non-answer answer and turned his attention to Shikadai. "Hey, Nara, who do you think you'll be teamed up with?"

Shikadai looked at the other boy, as if he were considering if answering was worth the effort. He apparently decided that it was. "Yes, I know exactly who will be in my squad."

The ninja-fanboy smiled at him slyly. "Oh yeah, how do you know? Steal a look at the listings?"

Shikadai sighed, then turned his head slightly to the side and grabbed his earlobe, highlighting the single silver hoop earring that he wore there. "That's how I know."

Stumped by the cryptic answer, the ninja-fanboy just watched as Shikadai walked off to sit with Inojin and Choza. Sarada had to admit that she had no clue what he was talking about either.

The next person to walk in that Sarada wanted on her team was Haruto Hyuga, the latest prodigy from that clan, marked as its most promising member since Neji Hyuga himself. Extremely talented, Haruto had the second highest overall scores after Sarada.

Then Spike Kuro came in. Civilian-born, Spike was notable during his first years in school for his large eyebrows and complete ineptitude, his scores being the lowest in the class across the board. However, a couple years ago Spike had started training with Rock Lee, and the improvement had been dramatic. His physical conditioning and taijutsu skills had quickly become the best in the class, surpassing even Sarada and Haruto, the resident prodigies, while in other areas he had improved to about average. Despite now wearing those despicable green spandex training suits, his hard work and vast improvement had earned Sarada's unspoken respect.

The last person to come in that Sarada would want on her squad was Kano. An immigrant from another country, Kano didn't really like to talk about herself. She was, however, known to possess amazing natural speed and dexterity. These allowed her to excel at taijutsu, in which only Spike surpassed her.

Shortly after she entered the classroom the meeting started, with Shino entering the room after all the graduating students had arrived. Carrying the list of squad assignments in his hands, he walked over to his desk at the front of the room.

"Today is your last day in the academy, because you are graduating. You will be formed into three man squads under the command of a jonin. This jonin will be both your on field commander and your teacher from this point on. I'll start announcing the teams."

Sarada leaned back, listening for the names of those she wanted to team up with, and found herself including Bolt Uzamaki in that list for some reason.

"Team one, Inojin Yamanaka, Shikadai Nara, and Chocho Akimichi."

There went teaming up with Inojin. Teams two and three were both full of ninja-fans.

"Team four will consist of Haruto Hyuga, Bolt Uzamaki, and Tora Yamato."

So much for her guilty pleasure of having Bolt on her team and Haruto wouldn't be available either. Teams five, six, and seven were filled in by the ninja-fans.

"Team eight will have Hiruto Hyuga, Spike Kuro, and Kano."

To Sarada's disappointment and dismay, she had lost the chance to be on a team with both Spike and Kano. That left only Ronin as an acceptable teammate. Sarada resigned herself to the fact that she would have to deal with at least one ninja-fan for a teammate.

Team nine featured neither Ronin nor Sarada on its roster.

"Team ten will, as you might guess, feature Sarada Uchiha, Ronin Moto, and Natsuko Taka."

Sarada was relieved to have been put on the same team as someone like Ronin, but Natsuko was one of the people she wanted most to avoid.

Shino put the paper down on the desk. "There are all the team assignments. Your jonin senseis will be arriving shortly."

Sarada leaned back as all the other students started to move around to sit with their new teammates. Ronin came from across the room and sat next to Sarada. The young Uchiha wasn't sure but she thought she saw him glare at her for a little bit before taking his seat. Natsuko then took up the seat next to Ronin, smiling and humming to herself.

"Well, this is exciting, isn't it?"

Sarada decided that the best way to deal with this was to ignore her entirely. Ronin must have thought the same thing because they both kept their silence.

The first jonin to enter the room was Konohamaru Sarutobi, who Sarada knew to be good friends with the Hokage. He didn't even call out for his team, Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho simply got up and walked out with their new sensei. Apparently Shikadai was telling the truth when he said that he knew who would be on his team.

The next couple of jonin to arrive Sarda didn't recognize and they were assigned to different teams. Then Rock Lee entered the room.

Sarada perked up when she saw the taijutsu master. "Uncle Lee, are you going to be my teacher?"

Lee blinked at Sarada, apparently surprised to be posed the question. "Oh, sorry, Sarada, I'm not your jonin sensei. Team 8, come with me, its time for you to show me the bright flames of your youth burn!"

Ronin looked at Lee, one eyebrow raised. "I don't get it. Was that a euphemism or something?"

Sarada smiled. "No, that's just the way he is."

The next few jonin to come in were assigned to different teams, and Sarada readily recognized none of them. After a while Sarada's squad were the only ones left in the room.

Nakasuko, who by this point practically bouncing in her seat, turned to her new teammates. "Oh, this is so exciting, I wonder who our new sensei is!"

Again, neither Sarada nor Ronin chose to respond.

Then the door opened and the three newly minted genin looked in anticipation to see who it was. All three looked on in mild confusion at the person who stepped through that door.

Sarada dipped her head to the side. "Uncle Naruto? Is something wrong? Could our sensei not make it?"

Naruto stood at the front of the classroom, a great big smile on his face and his arms crossed. "No, he got here fine. I'm your new sensei."

After a moment of shocked silence from the three genin Natsuko began to scream in delight. "We're going to be taught by the Hokage! This is so awesome!"

Naruto, still smiling, waved to the genin to come down to the front of the room. The three did as they were bid.

"Sensei," Ronin said, "what's in store for us?"

"Yeah, sensei," echoed Natsuko, "what?"

Naruto placed on hand on Sarada's shoulder and one on Natsuko's, with Ronin standing between them. "I have something planned for you, don't worry."

Sarada felt a very strange chakra envelop her body. Then, suddenly they were no longer in the classroom, but somewhere outdoors.

Natsuko looked around them in confusion. "Where are we?"

Ronin provided an answer. "We're on the Hokage monument."

The Hokage provided a more precise answer. "We're standing on top of the old man Third Hokage."

Ronin reached down and touched the ground, as if he were making sure that it was real. "But how? That was so fast, I wasn't even aware that we were moving."

Naruto sat down on the ground. "That's a taste of the power available to ninja. Now, why don't we start with introductions?"

Ronin placed his hands in his pockets. "Why? You've probably already looked at our files."

Naruto suddenly looked very annoyed. "That's besides the point, Ronin."

Natsuko suddenly got very excited. "Sensei, sensei, why don't you introduce yourself first?"

Naruto sighed. "Alright. I'm Naruto Uzamaki. I love my family, friends, and village. I hate anything that threatens those. My hobbies include… I was going to say things about ramen but I suppose I don't really have time for hobbies these days. My dream is…well, I'm living my dream now, though I suppose now I want to live up to the legacy left behind by my predecessors."

Natsuko was practically bursting with energy, wanting to go first. "My name is Natsuko Taka! I love really cool ninja things! I hate…I don't know, uncool things. My hobbies are talking about cool ninja things! My dream is to be a cool ninja!"

Ronin and Sarada both sighed at this, and then the latter started her turn. "My name is Sarada Uchiha. I love my family and clan. I hate people who don't take things seriously. My hobby is training. My dream to become a notable ninja, not just a footnote as the first Uchiha born since the massacre, and I want to move past my clan's bloody past."

Ronin let out a deep breath, as if he were just annoyed with all the proceedings. "My name is Ronin Moto. I love learning and reading. I hate people with unfair advantages." Sarada thought that Ronin shot her a glare out of the corner of his eye as he said that. "My hobby is reading about shinobi history and techniques. My dream is to be a great ninja like no other."

Naruto sat there with his eyes closed, thinking about the responses that he had been given. "I see. Tomorrow you will start you're first mission together."

Natsuko yelled out, "A mission?" and Sarada and Ronin looked on in mild anticipation.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, come to training ground seven tomorrow for a survival exercise. Oh, and don't have breakfast tomorrow morning, that would end badly for you. See ya."

With that said Naruto waved at them and then disappeared, leaving the newly formed squad alone on the Third Hokage's head. Realizing that their teacher had left them stranded up there, they ranted for a bit before consigning themselves to taking the long way down.

Sarada eventually started to make her way home, thinking about the day's events. Whatever came before and whatever came after, on her path of being a ninja this was the next step.


	15. Team Naruto

XV: Team Naruto

Sarada

Sarada arrived early in the morning at training ground seven, while the grass was still wet with dew. She had realized that Naruto had never given them a specific time to arrive at the training ground so she came early, just to make sure. It also helped that she wasn't supposed to eat breakfest either, it enabled her to get out of the house early.

Arriving at the grounds within moments of her was Ronin. The two sat a small distance from each other, neither really saying a word. For a couple of hours they sat there waiting. After eight AM passed Natsuko arrived humming her happy little song to herself. She took a seat between her two teammates. They continued to wait.

After 10 AM passed Sarada's patience was starting to run thin. Finally Naruto appeared in front of them in a cloud of smoke.

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

Ronin, who had opened a book, put it down and looked at Naruto. "Sensei, you never told us a time to meet."

Naruto suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh, did I? Sorry."

Natsuko started to jump up and down, waving her arms. "Sensei, sensei! What's our mission?"

Naruto smiled and reached into his pocket. "This is your mission." The hand came out of the pocket with two small bells.

Sarada looked at the bells. "How are those our mission?"

"Well, its not exactly a mission. You see, the graduation exam is not what truly decides if you're to be ninja. There is another test, one that you will take as a squad that I will oversee."

Ronin narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "A test?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. You see, only a select number of teams will make the cut. Four, to be exact, and these tests will decide who goes through."

Sarada got the gist of it. "And the teams that don't will be sent back to the academy."

Naruto nodded. "That's the idea, though most usually drop out of the program rather than go back to the academy."

Ronin closed his book and put it in his bag. "What's the goal of this test then?"

Naruto clinked the bells together. "You are to get these bells from me." He clipped the bells to his belt. "Attain them within the next two hours and you pass. Don't and you'll be tied to one of those posts." Naruto pointed to the post sitting in the middle of the training ground. "I'll also eat my lunch in front of you while you look on helplessly."

Sarada's stomach growled at that and she realized why they had been told not to eat breakfast. That only made her more determined to get one of those bells.

Ronin also had thoughts on the bells. "But there are only two bells. I could understand one for the whole squad or one for each of us, but only two?"

Naruto's facial expression suddenly darkened. "Only two can get a bell. The other fails."

Sarada's eyes widened in shock. "I thought that four _teams_ would pass."

Naruto flashed a mischievous smile. "I didn't say that they would pass as currently constructed."

Naruto walked over to the posts and placed a timer on top of one of them. "When this goes off the period is over, then we will continue the test from there. Oh, and come at me with the intention to kill."

"Intention to kill? Why would we do that?" Natsuko asked with a very worried expression on her face.

Naruto smiled at her. "You won't have a chance otherwise."

Sarada tensed in preparation for this test. Naruto raised his hand and then brought it down, signaling the start. The three genin scattered into the surrounding underbrush.

Naruto walked over to the center of the clearing and stood there. "I see you understand the first part of being a ninja, knowing how to conceal your presence."

Sarada moved silently through cover, trying to get an angle on Naruto's blind spot. When she managed to find it she gathered her chakra and went through a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The fire spewed forth and engulfed the Hokage in flame and for a moment she thought that she had gotten him. Then he appeared in the fire. He strode forward, a ball of spiraling chakra in hands that parted the flame around him, leaving him untouched. He kept walking forward until the ball of chakra was less than an inch from Sarada's face.

The young Uchiha fell back on her hands looking up at the Hokage as he dissipated the chakra in the his hand, the light of the fire surrounding them giving him an eery glow.

"Sarada," Naruto said, "that was your most powerful jutsu, wasn't it?"

Sarada, wide eyed in shock, fear, and awe, simply nodded in response.

Naruto looked down at her. "Never open with your best jutsu, use it when its necessary or most opportune. A real ninja…"

Suddenly Naruto was hit with several shuriken and started to fall on Sarada. Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Behind him were several more shuriken heading straight towards the young Uchiha. Sarada, without time to dodge the incoming projectiles, could only raise her arms to protect her face and body. Most of the shuriken flew above and around her but one hit her arm and another her shoulder.

Out of the bushes came Ronin, looking very angry. "Damn it, he got away." He looked at Sarada, but she saw no pity in his eyes. He simply jumped into the trees in search of Naruto. Sarada then just sat there, frozen, until she fell unconscious.

When Sarada woke up she found that she couldn't move. Looking down she saw that she had been tied to the post, meaning that the testing period was over. She also noticed that though the blood stains on her red sweater remained the wounds from the shuriken were healed. She looked over to the left and saw her two teammates also tied up, looking defeated.

Naruto sat in front of them, noisily slurping down some ramen. "Ah, good you're awake Sarada. Don't worry, I healed your wounds for you." He finished his bowl and then put it aside. "Now, lets talk about how you performed." Naruto stood up. "In a word: terrible."

Ronin sneered. "You made it too hard!"

Naruto turned to the boy. "Did I, Ronin?"

Ronin continued to yell in anger. "Its not like I've got famous ninja parents and family to learn from, or special eyes that I just inherit, or a mass of living chakra sealed inside of me. I work harder than anyone else, why should I not be a great ninja too?!"

"Ronin!" Naruto yelled. "You hate people for having what you perceive to be unfair advantages, like Sarada, and you also look down on people who you think don't try as hard as you, like Natsuko. But you let your disdain for both of them get in the way. You refused to team up with them from the start and went in on your own! Even worse, you endangered Sarada with your attacks and didn't even care!"

"But, sensei…" Natsuko said meekly.

Naruto turned his attention to her. "Natsuko, you sat in the bushes and watched the events unfold as if it were some kind of show for your enjoyment, instead of stepping in and helping your teammates! Even worse, when you found one of the bells laying on the ground you happily went for it without even considering the fact that it could be a trap!"

Natsuko just sat there looking ashamed. Naruto then turned to Sarada.

"Sarada, you went in on your own immediately, only thinking about what _you _can do. You want to make a name for yourself and improve the reputation of your clan. Noble, but ultimately selfish. Your father had a similar problem. He was so focused on his own goals and how he alone could achieve them, he rarely stopped to think about others. Never forget that others can help you achieve your dreams and that you should also help others achieve their's."

The three sat there, thoroughly shamed by the talking to they had been given. Naruto walked over and grabbed the timer. He fiddled with it before placing it back on the post.

"You will have another two hours to get the bells. If you do not get them you will fail the test. However, if you fail, I won't send you back to the academy. You will be dropped from the Shinobi program entirely." With that said Naruto severed the trio's bonds and then disappeared.

The genin sat there quietly for several minutes, no one moving or saying anything. Finally Ronin stood.

"We have to get those bells."

Sarada looked up at him. "Yes, but who gets them. Even if we manage to get them at least one of us is going to fail."

"You two can have them." Sarada and Ronin both looked over in surprise at a depressed looking Natsuko staring at the ground. "Its obvious that you both are much better ninja than I am."

Sarada looked at the girl, surprised by the gesture. "Wow, uh, thanks, Natsuko."

Ronin kneeled down next to his teammates. "We need to formulate a strategy."

With that said the three went about the business of making a plan. After about twenty minutes of talking it over they finally hammered something out. They then went in search of their target, a process which took another twenty minutes. When they finally found their way to Naruto they put their plan into motion.

Sarada launched a fireball jutsu at Naruto from her hiding place.

The Hokage smiled. "This again? If it didn't work the first time…hm?"

As Naruto said that a barrage of shuriken came at him from either side, forcing him to jump out of the way. When he landed Natsuko came out of the undergrowth, swinging a kunai at him. He danced out of the way, directly into the path of the oncoming Sarada and Ronin. For a moment Sarada thought they had him, but then she noticed that Ronin was moving significantly slower than her. Without having to worry about both of them at once, Naruto was able to easily dodge first Sarada and then Ronin before disappearing into the trees.

Sarada cursed their luck. "Damn it. Ronin, why didn't you move faster?"

Ronin was leaning over, panting hard. "Sorry, I haven't…eaten since last night. I don't have a lot of…strength left. We'll just have to refine the plan. We probably only have…one shot left."

Indeed they got one more chance to get the bells. Though the plan was more nuanced than the first one, involving Sarada using clones and transformations to cover Ronin's slower pace, the result turned out the same. After that the timer went off, signaling the end of the test.

The team gathered around the posts in the center of the training ground, looking dejected. They sat down, preparing for the worst, as Naruto arrived.

Naruto paced back and forth before facing his charges. "Well, in the end, you failed to get bells. So you all…passed." A great big smile plastered itself on Naruto's face.

Sarada looked blankly at her sensei. "We…passed."

Natsuko threw her hands in the air and started to scream in delight. "We passed, yay!"

Ronin looked confused. "What do you mean passed?"

Naruto unclipped the bells from his belt. "These were never the goal of the test."

Natsuko stopped her celebrating. "Huh?"

Naruto looked at exuberant girl. "Natsuko, when you thought that only two of you could pass, you volunteered yourself to be the one to fail. You made a hard decision to sacrifice for the sake of the team."

He then turned to the boy of the squad. "Ronin, you put aside your feelings about the other two and worked with them. You let the team be more important then how you felt."

With that said Naruto turned to the Uchiha. "Sarada, when it became obvious that Ronin was having trouble, you didn't throw him aside in the belief that he was just slowing you down. You worked to help the team get past that and ultimately improve as a whole."

Sarada dipped her head to the side. "Uncle Naruto, I still don't get it."

Naruto put the bells in his pocket. "It was never about those bells. Even if you had worked as a team from the start your chances were minimal. The point of this exercise is to realize that teaming up is your best chance and doing so, even if that means that one of you will fail."

Sarada looked back blankly as it started to click in her head. "I…see."

Naruto smiled at the three genin. "From this day forward, we are Team Naruto."


	16. Connections Deepen

XVI: Connections Deepen

Temari

Temari was sitting in one of the rooms of Hokage Residence. Sitting across from her, all on one side of a long table, were the Hokage, Naruto, her husband, Shikamaru, and two of the academy instructors, Shino and Anko.

Temari's eyes flitted between the people sitting in front of her. "You want me to teach a team of genin?"

Naruto pulled a piece of paper out from a folder. "Yeah. Here are the students that we are assigning to you."

Temari looked at the paper as Naruto handed it to her. "Team four, Haruto Hyuga, Bolt Uzamaki, and Tora Yamato. All have decent to great marks. A Hyuga, the son of the Hokage, and some girl I know nothing of. Why me?"

"They all have…" Shino said, "what you might consider to be conduct issues."

Temari raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean by that?"

Anko smiled. "Lets start with Haruto. He's talented, second in the class. But he's as arrogant a son of bitch as you'll find."

Temari blinked. "He's talented and he thinks he's better than others, so what, that's not unusual."

Shino folded his fingers together. "His ego is more inflated than that. Why? Its because he's second-in-line to be Hyuga Clan head."

"What," Temari said, "how?"

Shikamaru leaned back in his chair. "There is a law in the Hyuga Clan that states that the head of the family must both possess the Byakugan and not be branded with the Cursed Mark Jutsu. Because the Byakugan is only passed through the male line, any children that Hanabi Hyuga has will likely not be able to inherit the clan. Haruto was the first child born to the clan after the Hyuga Reformation Act, so therefore he does not possess the Cursed Mark and is set to inherit the clan from Hanabi."

Shino nodded. "That is indeed the case. It has given him a certain sense of entitlement."

"I see," Temari said, looking at the picture of Haruto, "what about the other two. Bolt's a prankster, but that isn't much of a problem."

Naruto closed his eyes. "My son is desperate for attention, he'll act out just to get people to look at him. That's not a good trait to have, I can tell you that from personal experience."

Temari nodded. "And Tora? I don't know anything about her."

"Tora has ability, more than her grades show," Shino said, "she might have the best chakra control of anyone in the class, except for the Hyugas, because they have a natural leaning towards that."

"However," Anko added, "she has a hair trigger temper and a rage like a volcano. If she's going to succeed as a ninja she's going to need to learn how to control that."

Temari looked over the team roster once more. "I see…" A thought suddenly came to her. "Why are you giving me this team?"

Naruto shrugged. "Shikamaru thought that you might be able to discipline them, get them in line."

Shikamaru laughed nervously. "It was an honest suggestion for the best solution, honest."

Temari stared at her husband for a moment, before deciding to let that slide. "Fine, I'll do it."

Naruto nodded. "Then come to the Academy tomorrow morning at 9, where your team will be introduced to you. You will then give them a test of your design the day after, to be reviewed three days from now. Dismissed."

Temari stood from her seat. "Understood." She then left the room.

As she walked through the Hokage Residence Temari realized that she had no clue what kind of test she could put her squad through. When she came to the waiting area at the entrance of the building she took a seat and started to consider the possibilities.

After sitting there for a time she saw someone else coming through. "Huh, Lee?"

Lee stopped and waved at her. "Oh, hi Temari, did you get assigned a genin squad as well?"

Temari nodded. "Yes, but I'm not sure how to test them. What plans do you have?"

Lee proudly pointed at himself with a thumbs up. "I'm giving the same test Guy-sensei gave to the team I was on. A variation on the bell test which requires one to keep pursuing the bells until they are retrieved , no matter how difficult that seemed. Once we proved that we wouldn't stop until we succeeded, we passed."

Temari looked at the taijutsu master quizzically. "The bell test? What's that?"

Lee waved goodbye to Temari and began to walk away. "I am sorry but I must leave, I hope you can forgive me."

After that episode Temari started to head home, still considering what her test would be. When she got home she laid on the couch in the living room, her mind going over the possibilities and finding none of them satisfactory.

She was distracted from her thoughts when Shikamaru walked into the room. "What? You're back home already?"

Shikamaru looked at his wife for a moment before speaking. "Trying to come up with a test?"

Temari leaned her head back. "Yes. What's the bell test?"

"Hm, the bell test?" Shikamaru said. "Its a test popular in the village, many jonin are fond of using variations of it to try out genin teams. It always involves having the genin try to gain a set of bells from the jonin's possession. However, that masks the true point of the test, generally the jonin wants to see if the team can work together, formulate coherent strategies, or can keep trying even if it appears that its impossible, something like that."

Temari sat up. "I see. Did you undergo that test?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I did. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is a team dynamic that stretches back generations with well defined capabilities, so Asuma-sensei tested how well we could adapt to changing circumstances."

"I get it," Temari said, "did you give the bell test to Mirai's team?"

Shikamaru took a seat in one of the armchairs in the room. "No, I decided to break from tradition a bit. I played them at shogi, tried to see how their mind works. I also wanted to see if they could create strategies together without infighting."

Temari closed her eyes in thought. "Hm, perhaps I can work something off of that."

"You are from the Sand Village," Shikamaru said, "perhaps you can work that in."

"Yes," Temari responded, "but I am also of the Leaf." Temari's eyes snapped open as an idea popped into her head. "That's it!"

"Oh," Shikamaru said, "got an idea now?"

Temari got up and gave her husband a kiss on the check. "Yes." She then went to another room to start preparing what she would need for her test.

* * *

It was early the next morning and Temari was walking towards the Academy to meet her team. She had worked out the details of her test and was looking forward to setting it in motion. In the mean time she needed to greet her team.

Coming into the entrance of the Academy she was greeted by Shino.

"I hope I'm not the last to arrive," Temari said.

"Not even close," Shino said, "you're the sixth to arrive."

With that said Shino took Temari up to the class where the genin were gathered and ushered her in. Stepping into the room Temari saw 15 young and eager genin looking at her eagerly. Scanning the room she noticed that her son wasn't in the room, it seemed as though his team had already departed.

"Team four," Temari yelled, "Haruto Hyuga, Bolt Uzamaki, Tora Yamato, you're with me."

Without waiting for her team to gather she left the room, leaving her charges to hurry after her as she moved down the hall. They followed after her as she made her way to the roof. Stepping out onto the roof, a flat observation platform, she took up a seat on the railing and waited for her team to find their own seats on the steps nearby.

Temari looked at her team, observing them, before speaking. "Tell me about yourselves."

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Bolt asked.

Temari shrugged. "Why not? My name is Temari and I'm your jonin sensei."

Bolt looked at her as if her were expecting something more. "That's it? That's not an introduction!"

"Shut up, fool," Haruto said.

Bolt turned his attention to his new teammate. "What was that, cousin?"

Haruto stared Bolt in the face. "Don't talk to me like you're on the same level as me."

Temari sighed. "That's enough you two. Why don't all of you introduce yourselves?"

Haruto and Bolt broke off from their deadlock as the latter took the opportunity to speak. "I'm Bolt Uzamaki. I want more than anything else to be a great ninja that stands on his own merits, apart from my father."

"I'm Tora Yamato, and I just want to do my best."

"I'm Haruto Hyuga and I just hope these two don't slow me down."

Tora turned to the Hyuga, anger apparent on her face. "What was that?" She threw a fist at Haruto, who easily blocked.

Thoroughly ticked off by this, Temari grabbed her fan from her back and smacked both of them over the head with it. "No attacking your teammates!"

"But, Sensei…" Tora started.

Temari put up her hand. "Enough." She stowed her fan away and cleared her throat. "Tomorrow there will be a test, one you must pass in order to become genin. Meet at training ground five tomorrow at noon for it."

With a wave of her hand Temari disappeared in a gust of wind, leaving her team to fend for themselves.

* * *

Temari sat as she watched her team gathering in training ground five. It was nearly noon and it was time for her to start. She used the teleportation technique to appear amongst her squad, whipping up a gust of wind to accompany her entrance.

"Good, you're here, it is time for your test." Temari then started to walk into the nearby trees as her team ran to catch up her.

After walking for a short time they came to small clearing in the forest. "Here is where you're test will be."

Bolt looked around the clearing. "There's nothing here."

Temari smiled. "Oh, is there now?" Temari took out a scroll from her pocket and opened it on the ground. Applying her chakra to the seal inside it began to glow before emitting large amounts of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was a large bell in the center of the clearing, its stand staked into the ground.

Temari walked over to the bell and stood in front of it. "The goal of this test is to ring this bell."

Haruto looked at her as if she were crazy. "Ring the bell? That can't be all."

Temari smiled. "Of course not. You have to get past me in order to do it. One more thing though. You can only attempt it one at a time. If you cannot get past me on your own then you don't deserve to be shinobi."

Bolt's eyes narrowed. "Then why are we being tested as a team, instead of by ourselves."

Temari laughed. "The leaf may care about you working as a team, but I don't. I'm of the Sand, and we only care about how you are as individuals."

Temari took her fan and readied herself. "Come, let's see if you're worthy of being shinobi."

Haruto was the first to step up. "You won't stand a chance against my gentle fist." He activated his Byakugan and charged at Temari. The Sand kunoichi smirked at this and waved her fan, creating a wind that blew the Hyuga off his feet and backwards.

Tora and Bolt each took their turns next, trying in much the same manner as Haruto and failing in much the same manner. This continued on in the same fashion for about thirty minutes, with some weapons being thrown and basic jutsu being used to try to trick Temari. However, nothing worked, each time she blew them all away.

With things looking bleak Tora let her temper get the best of her. Frustrated with her own failure the girl turned to the nearest tree and punched it, yelling obscenities as she kept hitting it. Bolt ran over to the girl and appeared to be trying to calm her. Eventually Haruto came over and he seemed to argue with the other two.

After that conversation Haruto charged her again. Again, Temari blew him back with a wind jutsu. However, just as the winds subsided Tora threw a barrage of kunai as her, which Temari had to hurry to deflect. Very quickly Tora threw a large shuriken at Temari. Unable to recover quickly enough to do another wind jutsu she went to block with her fan, deflecting it behind her.

Temari smirked. "Alright Bolt, you can stop right there." She waved her offhand, which stood poised to launch a wind jutsu at the young Uzamaki with a small hand fan she had drawn from a side holster.

Standing behind her, poised to strike the bell, Bolt just gaped at her. "How did you know?"

"It was obvious that you had transformed into that shuriken," Temari said. "It was too large for me not to have seen it previously and you were also nowhere to be seen when Tora threw it. If I had to guess you had planned it when you pretended to argue with Haruto after Tora had punched the tree. It was a good plan, but it could have used some refinement."

Temari withdrew from her fighting stance and stowed her fans away. "However, it was a plan that you three enacted together. You broke one of the rules of this test."

Haruto scowled at Bolt. "I told you, you fool."

Temari began to shake her head as a very serious expression came over her face. "Based on that fact, I'm going to have…pass you."

Tora suddenly started to look very angry as she thought that she had been failed until she realized what had actually been said. "Wait, we…passed."

Temari smiled sweetly. "Yes."

Bolt looked at her with a very confused expression on his face. "But, what was that about being from the Sand and judging us as individuals."

Temari nodded. "That was indeed the philosophy when I was growing up there, but we have long since dropped that idea, instead adopting the Leaf's curriculum."

"Then what was the point of this?" Haruto asked.

Temari put a hand to her chin. "Was there a point to this? Perhaps I just like screwing with people."

Tora clenched her hand into a fist. "Sensei, don't tell me this was some practical joke!"

"It wasn't," Temari said, "this was designed to see if you could see that the one on one restriction was preventing you from succeeding and team up as a consequence. You cannot achieve your mission on your own, no matter how skilled you think you are and you cannot let the path to victory be defined for you. Got that?"

The three genin nodded slowly. Temari smiled.

"Then you are now members of Team Temari."

It had been many years since Temari had moved to Hidden Leaf. First she had done it for love. Then she made friends and had a family. Now she had here own students. The longer she was there, the more she found her connections deepen.


	17. Family Matters

XVII: Family Matters

Hinata

It was late at night and Hinata was reading a book in bed. It had been the day of the survival test and she had heard no end of it from Bolt.

Hinata looked up from her book as Naruto walking into the bedroom. "Sounds like it was a successful day of survival tests."

"Oh," Naruto said, "you heard about that?"

Hinata put her book down. "Yes, Bolt couldn't stop talking about it. Placing him under Temari was an interesting choice, he seems to like her."

Naruto laid down on the bed next to his wife. "Yes, it won't be official until tomorrow morning, but it looks like we have our four teams selected. Teams Temari, Lee, Konohamaru, and Naruto will officially enter duty tomorrow."

"Team Naruto?" Hinata said, "you took on a team of genin?"

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I decided it was time."

Hinata turned to face Naruto. "Why? We've already talked about how you don't spend enough time with the family. Why add to your responsibilities?"

Naruto squirmed a bit as he tried to find a comfortable position. "I wanted to teach Sarada."

Hinata bolted into an upright. "Sarada? If you were going to take a squad why didn't you take Bolt's."

Naruto opened one of his eyes. "Firstly, what would it look like if I took a squad with my own son on it? Favoritism? More importantly, I made a promise."

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "A promise? What promise to who?"

Naruto rolled over onto his side, his back towards Hinata. "I promised Sasuke I'd look after Sarada, keep her from becoming like him."

Hinata's eyes widened as she realized what this was about. "I see. I still don't agree with your decision, but…" Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know how important keeping your promises is to you. I'll support you all the way."

"Thank you, honey," Naruto replied.

Hinata hugged her husband from behind and snuggled up into his shoulder. They laid there like that until they fell asleep.

* * *

Neji

For the first time since his resurrection Neji was near his home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He and Askia had left the Hidden Rain a few day prior, heading south into the Land of Rivers to meet up with another agent, a ninja from the Hidden Sand. After the rendezvous the three made their way to the Leaf Village, using Neji's Byakugan to avoid Leaf patrols, going miles out of their way to avoid detection. Whatever else could be said about Askia, he was careful.

They were now on the outskirts of the village, close enough to see the village in the distance, but not so close as to be detected by the barriers maintained around the area. Neji sat on a rock formation, his Byakugan activated, looking down at his home as the moonless night reached its darkest point.

Askia over walked and took a seat next to the Hyuga. "Look any different than how you remember?"

Neji deactivated his Byakugan. "Parts of it look as I remember it, even before Pain's assault. Others appear to be new development, especially around what used to be the outskirts of the village. I don't think I have ever seen buildings that tall."

Askia took out a canteen of water and took a swing. "Yes, its amazing how quickly technology advances and how prosperous we become during times of peace. That is why we must maintain it." Askia held the canteen out towards Neji, offering it to him.

Neji eyed the canteen suspiciously, before looking back up at Askia. "Are you serious?"

"Hm?" Askia said before his eyes widened in recognition and then slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, such a fool. I apologize."

"Hey, when are we going to do this?" Their compatriot from the Sand yelled out behind him.

Askia stowed away the canteen and stood up. "Now is a good time, gather around."

Neji and the Sand ninja walked over next to Askia as he began the mission briefing.

"We are in the Hidden Leaf for one reason only. By The Master's orders, we are to…" Askia grimaced as he struggled to say the words, "kidnap Himawari Uzumaki."

The Sand ninja smiled and chuckled. "Good, the Leaf Princess gets what's coming to her."

Neji showed no outward reaction but within he was cursing his luck and begging any gods that may listen to let him strike down and kill the two men standing with him.

Askia continued. "We are to infiltrate the village and apprehend the girl. Avoid detection and contact with the Leaf shinobi at all cost, they should not know what we have done until we are already gone and they should have no idea about who did it."

The Sand ninja nodded and said "yes, sir." Neji said and did nothing.

Askia put his hands on one of the shoulders each of the Sand ninja and Neji. "Hyuga, keep those eyes of your's at the ready, we need to know of anyone within detection range of us." With that said Neji involuntarily activated his Byakugan as he suddenly felt himself sink into the ground as Askia pulled the three of them through the earth.

Very quickly, almost instantly, they were underneath the village. With his Byakugan Neji could see that they were near the Hokage Residence. Askia then brought them up to the surface in an alley near the building.

Askia turned to Neji. "See anyone nearby?"

Neji shook his head. "No, we appear to be alone, as long as we don't go near the entrance we shouldn't be detected by the guards."

Askia nodded. "Then find the room where Himawari is. We enter via a window and exit the same way. Lead on."

With his orders given Neji took off towards the building, quietly coming up underneath the window to the room in which Himawari was sleeping a few floors above them. On a signal from Askia they climbed up to the window and entered the building. The child was sleeping on her bed, quietly dreaming away. Neji wanted nothing more than to let her be, but he knew that it would not be allowed.

Askia signaled to the Sand ninja to grab the child and he sneaked up next to the bed. However, as he was doing so Neji detected a presence in the hall outside. Signalling as much to Askia, the Rain jonin moved next to the door but for some reason didn't warn the Sand ninja of it.

The door creaked open and through it walked a man Neji recognized to be Genma Shiranui. When Genma saw the Sand ninja, standing over Himawari, they both stopped for a moment and stared at each other. They both made a move for weapons but Genma was quicker. Spitting out the senbon that he always kept in his mouth, Genma hit the Sand ninja in the neck, severing one of the main arteries there. Askia came from behind the door, hitting Genma in the back of the head and knocking him unconscious. The Sand ninja crumbled to the floor and quickly died of blood loss.

Askia then walked over to the still sleeping Himawari and, with a tenderness that could have made you forget that he was kidnapping the girl, picked her up. He grabbed Neji by the shoulder and guided him to the window. Together they jumped out and as they hit the ground they once again submerged into the earth and Askia quickly transported them back out of the village.

After emerging from the ground at their original starting point Neji looked at Askia, who was still carrying Himawari.

"Why did you do that, leave that man to die?" Neji whispered at him.

Askia looked at Neji. "It was the orders of The Master. He was meant to die on this mission from the start, if that Leaf shinobi hadn't done it I would of."

Neji's eyes widened in realization. "You want the Leaf to believe that the Sand is responsible for the kidnapping."

Askia didn't say anything, merely staring back at the undead Hyuga.

"What now?" Neji said after a short moment of awkward silence. "We return to the Rain and deliver the girl to your Master?"

Askia shook his head. "No, we take her to a safe house here in the Land of Fire. The Master will meet us there. Besides, I don't have the energy to travel too far at the moment."

"I see," Neji said, "that earth jutsu you used to get us into the village. It must use a lot of chakra, especially when you have to extend its effects over multiple people."

Askia chose not to answer, merely walking away from Neji. After taking a few steps he backed over his shoulder at the Hyuga. "Come, follow."

Neji sighed as his body obeyed the order, following Askia away from the village.


	18. Drastic Action

XVIII: Drastic Action

Shikamaru

Shikamaru yawned as he looked over the reports in his hand. It was early morning and he had just arrived at work.

Naruto was sitting at his desk. "What's the situation right now, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru flipped through several reports. "Well, the academy graduation is done. Teams Temari, Lee, Konohamaru, and Naruto officially enter service today."

Naruto leaned back in his seat. "Right. How about missions?"

Shikamaru flipped through some more papers. "There have been no requests put in for anything higher than a C-rank mission."

"What about the mission to the Hidden Sound?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru pulled a paper from the stack in his hand and put it on the desk in front of Naruto. "Here's the transcript of the most recent message from Ino, they should return and give a formal report either today or tomorrow."

Naruto picked up the paper and looked at it. "Let's review everything they've found."

"They report that the Sound Village has been destroyed entirely," Shikamaru replied, "though casualties seem to be unexpectedly low. Most of the civilian population, escorted by most of village's military strength, were found in hidden bunkers outside of the village."

Naruto nodded. "I remember, sounds like a successful evacuation."

Shikamaru flipped over the next page in the reports. "Based on eyewitness testimony and the pattern of destruction in the village, they've reached the conclusion that whoever it was that attacked the Sound was using the Almighty Push Jutsu, which is only possible with the Rinnegan."

Naruto did a quarter turn in his seat and leaned his head back. "Rinnegan, huh? If they possess it then they are a dangerous opponent."

"Furthermore," Shikamaru continued, "they have formed profiles on the two enemy shinobi that they encountered at the Final Valley, to be given entries in the bingo book."

Naruto turned back to face his advisor. "I remember them saying that they fought somebody. Who were they?"

Shikamaru pulled another paper from his small stack, a draft for a page in the bingo book, to be put in the next edition that was to printed out soon. "First we have this guy. Name is Tadashi, A-rank criminal, affiliation unknown. Possess a high degree of skill with lighting style jutsu and ability with water style. At least jonin level in ability, approach with caution. Possesses an extreme degree of confidence in his own power. Wanted for involvement in the attack on the Village Hidden in the Sound. We have no confirmed picture of the man."

Shikamaru placed the bingo book entry on the desk and pulled another for the stack. "Another guy we don't have a picture of. Askia, A-rank, unknown affiliation. Has displayed mastery of earth style jutsu and a high degree of skill in infiltration and water style. Jonin level, if not higher, approach with caution. Wanted for involvement in the attack on the Village Hidden in the Sound and is a suspect in the Neji Hyuga grave robbing incident." Shikamaru placed the paper on Naruto's desk.

Naruto eyed the two profiles. "You think this guy is responsible for the grave robbing?"

Shikamaru placed a hand on his chin. "Its possible, he fits the profile, but there is really no way to make sure."

"Hm," Naruto said, "what about the mission to the Hidden Rain?"

Shikamaru flipped through another series of reports. "Sasuke should rendezvous with Sai and Yamato sometime today and then arrive at the staging point tomorrow."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, well then…"

Naruto was suddenly interrupted by a great commotion coming from the hallway. Before either Naruto or Shikamaru could try to find out what was going on out there the door burst open and Genma and Shizune ran into the room.

Genma came to a stop and started breathing hard. "Lord Hokage, I have terrible news!"

Naruto stood up. "Terrible news? What do you mean?"

Genma straightened his back as he collected himself. "I'm sorry, but Himawari, your daughter…she's been kidnapped."

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise. "Kidnapped?! What do you mean? How?!"

Shizune stepped forward. "Naruto, we can try to form a search team…huh?"

Shikamaru turned to look at his Hokage to see him standing still with his eyes closed. After a moment the area around Naruto's eyes turned orange as he entered Sage Mode.

Naruto opened his eyes. "I don't sense her chakra. Either someone is hiding her presence extremely well or they've already moved her out of my range."

Naruto suddenly screamed in rage, turning and punching the window behind him, shattering it into tiny shards of glass. "Tell me what happened."

Genma grimaced as he recounted his tale. "Sir, I was on duty last night when I sensed a presence coming from Himawari's bedroom. I went to investigate and I found a man preparing to grab her. I was able to kill him, but another one must have come behind and knocked me out. I'm sorry, sir."

"Naruto," Shizune said, "the man that Captain Genma killed…he was from the Sand Village."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Shizune. "The Sand Village?"

Shikamaru was shocked by this revelation. "But why would the Sand kidnap Himawari?"

"I intend to find out."

There was a sudden burst of light as everyone in the room attempted to shield their eyes with their hands. For one crazy moment Shikamaru thought that he had just witnessed a case of spontaneous human combustion, that Naruto had just burst into flame. He quickly realized that this was insane and lowered his hand to see Naruto in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

"Naruto, what are you…" Shikamaru yelled out as the Hokage suddenly disappeared.

"Where did he go?!" exclaimed Genma.

Shikamaru walked behind the desk and looked out the broken window. "I believe that he's heading to the Hidden Sand."

Shizune joined him at the window. "Why would he do that? You don't think that he would confront the Kazekage about this, or, even worse, attack the Sand in retaliation."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't know, but I think he's about to take some drastic action."


	19. Unwanted War

XIX: Unwanted War

Gaara

Gaara was sitting quietly in the council chamber, listening as his advisors and the village council chatter on about the current state of the village.

"The village's finances are secure, with a steady flow of missions coming into the village," remarked one council member.

Another nodded in agreement. "Yes, we have managed to find a good balance of military expenditure and income."

A different member of the council stood up. "'A good balance of military expenditure and income.' Is that what we call it? All we are doing to hamstringing our shinobi forces, limiting our preparation for times of war."

"Isamu," Baki said, sitting on Gaara's right hand side, "we are not risking the village's safety, the world is at peace, every nation is down sizing their military strength, its no longer as necessary."

Isamu scoffed at this. "Peace? How long do you think it will last? We must prepare for war."

"What war, Isamu?" asked another council member. "Who would we fight? With whom has our relationship deteriorated that far?"

Defeated, Isamu sat back in his seat, sulking.

Another council member stood. "The preparations for this year's Chunin exams, to be hosted here in the Sand, are on schedule and on budget. In fact, the new stadium for the final rounds is well ahead of schedule."

A more elderly council member nodded. "Good, good. These exams are a good opportunity to show our continued strength to the world and potential clients. It will also allow us to maintain our good relations with other Five Great Shinobi Nations. Not to mention the income we will get from tourism during the final rounds."

"Good," Baki said, "now on to matters of village security."

"What of the joint mission with the Stone and Leaf into the Hidden Rain?" one of the council asked.

"Lord Kazekage sent Kankuro to represent us on the mission," Baki responded, "he left earlier in the week and should arrive at the staging point tomorrow."

The council member rubbed his chin in thought. "Kankuro is skilled, to be sure, but only one man. Shouldn't we have sent more?"

"Kankuro will be more than enough," Gaara responded, "I trust him."

After a moment of silence the council member bowed his head. "Then I'll respect your judgement, Lord Kazekage."

Out of the corner of his eye Gaara saw a man hand a paper to Isamu, who then read it and stood up. "My fellow members of the council, Lord Kazekage, I have just received news on one of our patrols near the Land of Rivers that has been missing for some time now."

Baki leaned back in his seat. "Ah, were they finally found? Good."

Isamu continued. "They were found alright. Dead, all of them."

Everyone in the chamber sprang to their feet, except for Gaara.

"Dead?! How could this happen?!" one council member exclaimed.

"Do we have any idea who did it?!" anther yelled.

Isamu raised his hand, signaling the council for silence, and the room became quiet. "Preliminary reports on the autopsy are in. All four members of the patrol were killed by Rasengan."

"Rasengan? But how?" one council member said.

Isamu slammed his hand on the table. "My friends, it is obvious what must be done! Declare war on the the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

Gaara closed his eyes as Baki scoffed at the notion. "Declare war? Are you insane?"

"Only three people alive in the world today know the Rasengan," Isamu replied, "all of them hail from the Hidden Leaf. Its obvious that they are the ones responsible."

Baki slammed his hand on the table. "You would throw away everything we have accomplished, the peace that we have worked so hard to attain and maintain, based on some supposition?"

"Isamu is correct, this crime demands an act of war," a younger member of the council called out.

Gaara opened his eyes. "I will not throw this village into a war based on that."

Despite the fact that Gaara spoke those words softly, everyone in the council chamber heard them and fell silent before slumping back into their seats. Except for Isamu.

Anger apparent on his face, Isamu stared at his Kazekage. "You only refuse to go to war because you are friends with the Hokage." He pointed at Gaara. "You're loyalty to the village is outweighed by your love for Naruto Uzamaki."

Several members of the council gasped and murmured at the accusation. They all fell silent, however, when Gaara stood.

Giving Isamu a death glare, Gaara spoke. "I am the Kazekage. I will never let this village come to harm, no matter the cost. Never question my loyalty to my people."

Isamu glared at the Kazekage. Before he could respond, however, another member of the council interceded. "We are not questioning your resolve to protect the village, my Lord, but this is suspicious to say the least. We must launch an investigation, at the very minimum make an inquiry to the Leaf Village."

Gaara was about to respond when he felt a presence entering the village. His eyes widened as he realized who it was. "Looks like we'll be doing that sooner than you thought."

Several of the council members exchanged confused glances. However, they were all surprised when Gaara disappeared from the room in a cloud of sand.

Gaara arrived on the roof of the Kazekage residence. Creating a floating ring of sand swirling around him, he looked at the intruder. "Naruto, I'm surprised to see you here."

Standing across from Gaara was Naruto, wearing the cloak of his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. "I came here for answers, Gaara."

"Answers, huh," Gaara responded. "Are you here to give them or to receive them?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"We just received a report on one of our patrols," Gaara answered. "They were all killed by someone using the Rasengan."

Naruto stared back at Gaara. "We didn't do it."

Gaara looked into Naruto's eyes. "I believe you. You're telling the truth."

"I've answered your question," Naruto said, "now you answer mine. What do you know of the kidnapping of my daughter?"

Gaara's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Himawari has been kidnapped?"

"I'm guessing you didn't do it then," Naruto replied.

"Why, Naruto," Gaara asked, "would you think that I would know something about that?"

"One of the men that was part of the kidnapping was killed," Naruto said. "He was a Sand shinobi."

Gaara shook his head. "If anyone from the sand was involved in this they did so without my knowledge or permission."

Naruto relaxed his stance. "I believe you, Gaara."

"Naruto," Gaara said, "before you leave. The kidnapping of Himawari, the murder of my men, there will be people on both sides calling for war and we may not be able to stop it."

Naruto made a half turn as he prepared to leave. "I know."

"Something else," the Kazekage added, "of all the shinobi nations none are closer than ours. If we were to go to war the peace which we have a fought so hard for will crumble to dust."

"I know that too," the Hokage said before disappearing. Using the ambient sand floating in the village, Gaara tracked Naruto's presence as he left the Sand, heading back towards the Leaf.

"Was that the Hokage?" Baki asked as he appeared on the roof behind Gaara.

Gaara nodded. "Yes."

Baki walked up next to him. "And?"

Gaara looked at his former teacher. "I think we are being forced into an unwanted war."


	20. Mission Started

XX: Mission Started

Sasuke

Sasuke was in the Land of Grass, sitting on a large rock formation as he waited for his squad mates to meet him. As he looked up at the sun setting on the western horizon he sensed the presence of two people coming close to him.

"Sai, Yamato, I see you made it."

Standing on the ground below Sasuke were Yamato, wearing a standard Leaf uniform with his distinctive happuri style headband, and Sai, wearing nearly all black shirt, pants, and sandals, with a large scroll across his lower back. "Sasuke, could you come down here?" Yamato called out.

Sasuke's attention lingered for a moment on the sunset before jumping down from his perch, landing next to Yamato.

Yamato grabbed a scroll from a pocket and handed it to Sasuke. "The Hokage has named me the leader of this squad."

Sasuke grabbed the scroll and read it. "Understood."

"Sasuke," Yamato said, "what information have you managed to gather about the Hidden Rain since you left the village?"

Sasuke finished reading the scroll and handed it back to Yamato. "I have nothing new. Whoever's in charge there knows how to keep a secret. Nothing is coming out of that place."

Yamato placed his hand to his chin as he thought for a moment. "Unfortunate, but I suppose that's part of why we're going on this mission."

"Captain Yamato," Sai said, "you want to go ahead and camp here for the night?"

"No," Yamato replied, "lets try to get a little further before we stop for the night. Oh, yes, Sasuke?"

"Yes?" Sasuke said.

Yamato pointed to his headband. ""We're supposed to be wearing these when we arrive."

"Alright," Sasuke said as he reached into an inside pocket in his jacket and grabbed an aged headband from it. He then lifted it to his forehead and tied it on.

Sai looked him slightly confused. "Sasuke are you sure you want to wear that? Its got a big scratch across the face of it."

Sasuke traced the old scratch mark with his finger. "No, its fine."

Sai persisted. "Are you sure? It wouldn't be to hard to get a new one."

"No," Sasuke responded, "I don't want a new one."

"Alright, enough of that," Yamato interrupted, "lets get going."

"Right," Sai replied. Sasuke merely nodded before the trio jumped into the trees continuing towards the Land of Earth. After traveling for a little over an hour the sun disappeared over the horizon and Yamato signaled a stop.

Having stopped in a small clearing Yamato quickly scanned the surrounding area. "This should do." He quickly went through a series of hand signs and yelled out "Wood Style: Four Pillar House Jutsu!" A large building made of wood suddenly burst through the ground, forming out of numerous pillars of wood. When it finished forming the three stepped inside and settled in for the night.

Unable to fall asleep, Sasuke found himself sitting on the roof, looking up at the stars above.

"Unable to sleep?" Sasuke heard from behind him.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "Sai."

Sai slowly climbed up and sat next to Sasuke. "The stars are beautiful tonight. Almost want to draw a picture of it."

Sasuke didn't respond. Sai seemed undeterred.

"Tell me, Sasuke, why, after all these years, do you still wander the world?"

Sasuke didn't avert his eyes from the sky. "Why should I tell you?"

Sai smiled. "Well, I think I know why. Because in all the world there is only one person that you can trust, and that's yourself."

Sasuke turned his gaze towards ANBU member. "You're right, there is one person that I trust, but it isn't me."

Sai nodded. "I see. Naruto's a good choice, I have complete faith in him as well."

"Hm," Sasuke said, "wait, didn't you just say…?"

Sai looked back up at the sky. "Sometimes the easier way to learn what someone's feelings are when you lie about your own. Its something that I read in a book. Not always helpful, but sometimes you find a gem."

Sasuke looked back up at the stars, not saying a word.

"There's just one thing I don't get though," Sai said.

"Hm?" Sasuke said as he glanced at Sai.

"Naruto has forgiven you, Sakura has forgiven you, the village has forgiven you. Indeed it seems that everyone in the world has forgiven you. Except for you."

Deciding not to respond Sasuke looked back up at the stars.

Sai stood and started to walk off the roof. "I still don't understand all that much about emotions, but you might want to think about that."

With that said Sai left the rooftop, leaving Sasuke to lay alone there. He eventually fell asleep on the spot, the soft glow of night sky surrounding him.

* * *

Sasuke woke early the next morning as the sun began to rise. Without much commotion the squad gathered their things, Yamato dispelled the wood house jutsu, and then continued on their way to the rendezvous point.

By midday they had crossed into the Land of Earth and arrived at the staging point.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sai asked as they arrived at the location

Yamato looked around the area. "Yes, according to the map this is exactly where we're supposed to be."

They were standing in a large, rocky clearing. The only clear landmark was a large boulder nearby. Nowhere to be seen were signs of other shinobi or a campsite. Yamato started to pull out a map and compass to check if they were in were in the right place, but as he reached into his bag they heard the sound of stone scraping against stone.

Looking over at the boulder Sasuke saw a piece of it slid back and up into itself, revealing a small passageway big for one person and a woman wearing standard Stone ninja gear was standing in the entrance. The woman stepped out of the doorway, her long black hair flowing behind her.

"Are you the team from the Hidden Leaf?" she asked.

Yamato returned his map and compass to his backpack. "Yes, we're the team that the Hokage sent."

The woman turned back around and walked into the passageway in the boulder, beckoning for the Leaf shinobi to follow. The trio came after her single file, Yamato followed by Sai, then Sasuke. The passage led underground before it opened into a large, well lit chamber with a nicely burning fire pit in the center of the room.

Sitting against one of the walls was a large man wearing the uniform of Stone shinobi. "You must be the Leaf shinobi," he said as they came into view. "Good, then we can start."

The large man from the Stone Village stood up. "My name is Madoka, and this beautiful young lady is Kumi, the preeminent infiltration expert in our village."

Kumi smiled and waved at the Leaf ninja. "Hello."

"My name is Yamato, I'm the commander of this squad, here we have Sai, and Sasuke Uchiha."

Kumi eyed Sasuke curiously. "Sasuke Uchiha, huh? Didn't think I'd meet someone so famous on this mission."

Madoka motioned towards the fire pit. "Come and have a seat by the fire. We'll discuss plans and introduce you to our compatriot from the Sand."

Sasuke looked over at the figure sitting by the fire.

The Sand ninja waved at the group. "Hello, I'm Kankuro."

"Ah, yes," Sai said, "the older brother of the Kazekage."

Kankuro sighed at that comment. "Yes, that is my most famous accomplishment, isn't it?"

Everyone took a seat around the fire as the began to discuss the details of the mission.

"I think the first thing we should do is take an account of each individuals abilities and skills," Yamato said as they started.

Madoka nodded. "Agreed. My skills revolve mostly around interrogation. I can use a variety of potent genjutsu to coerce information from individuals without doing physical harm or risking them feeding us lies. I also have large amounts of field experience dating back to before the Fourth Great Ninja War."

"As Madoka stated," Kumi said, "I am an infiltration expert. I possess a near perfect invisibility jutsu that can be only detected by someone with a visual jutsu such as the Sharingan or Byakugan."

Yamato was the next to introduce himself. "I possess the Wood Style Kekkai Genkai, granting me a number of unique abilities. I also have extensive experience in infiltration, espionage, sabotage, tracking, and command dating back to just after the Third Great Ninja War."

"I also have experience in the areas of infiltration and sabotage," Sai said, "my unique ink techniques can be used for a variety of purposes, including reconnaissance and communication, to great effect."

"My puppets have many uses," Kankuro said. "I can use puppets that can safely walk among people, even hold conversations with them. They can record anything they see and hear and then return to me without risking anybody."

Madoka turned to Sasuke. "And you, Uchiha?"

Yamato interceded on Sasuke's behalf. "Sasuke's information network was where we first learned about the situation in the Hidden Rain. He has more knowledge about what's going on in there than anybody else."

"In truth I know little about the Hidden Rain," Sasuke interjected, "however, I know that there are border patrols that are meant to keep people out of the country. We'll have to avoid them."

Madoka nodded. "That is why this location was chosen as a starting point." He pointed to a passageway leading further underground. "This leads to a hidden tunnel that goes under the border into the Land of Rain, allowing us to enter the country undetected."

"I see," Yamato said, "how will we organize?"

Madoka laid his hand at his side. "Well, Yamato, as you have greatest experience of anyone here, I believe that you should be in command of this mission."

Yamato nodded. "Understood." He remained quiet for a moment as he looked between the shinobi gathered. "We'll be forming three teams of two. Sai, you'll be with me. With your ink jutsu we can cover the most ground and can maintain lines of communication over those distances. Kumi, Kankuro, your skills are best suited to getting close to targets undetected and gathering information, you'll be working together. Madoka and Sasuke, you'll be working together in our interrogation team."

With that said Yamato stood up. "Alright, lets get moving."

The six quickly gathered their supplies and started to head down the passageway into the Land of Rain single file. As they traveled through the tunnels they crossed the border and the mission started.


	21. Among Them, but Not of Them

XXI: Among Them, but Not of Them

Neji

Neji was in a hidden warehouse built into a hillside in the southwestern Land of Fire. The area was well protected, with powerful and complex barrier seals protecting it from the outside. Even with his Byakugan Neji had been unable to detect it until Askia had undone seals in order to enter the hideout. The seals were so complex that they even defeated the common weakness of these barriers, instead of appearing as a blank space where Neji's eyes could not see, it projected a false image to fill the gap, fooling even the Byakugan into believing that nothing was there.

They had arrived late the previous night from the Leaf Village, a still sleeping Himawari in tow. When they entered the hideout they were greeted by two of The Master's men, a medical ninja named Hitoshi and a another man named Takeshi. After confirming that The Master was on his way and giving Askia a room to sleep in they placed Himawari under a genjutsu to keep her asleep, leaving Neji to watch over her.

It was late in the day after they had arrived at the hideout and Askia, Neji, Hitoshi, and Takeshi were standing in the large, empty, central chamber of the warehouse, waiting for the imminent arrival of The Master, the sleeping form of Himawari laying between them.

"How much longer before he arrives?" complained Takeshi.

Hitoshi glanced at his compatriot out of the corner of his eye. "He'll get here when he gets here. Be patient."

"Yeah, yeah. I just want to hear what we're supposed to do with the damned Leaf Princess," Takeshi said, stretching out his leg to give Himawari a quick jab with his foot.

"That's enough," Askia said, interrupting Takeshi, "there's no reason for you to do that. It's disrespectful and unbecoming of you."

Takeshi withdrew his foot. "Really? What are you going to do? She's just the spoiled daughter of the Hokage."

"Takeshi," Hitoshi said calmly, "this is The Master's Left Hand you're speaking to, remember your place."

Takeshi stared at the medical ninja. "Fine." He relaxed his stance, crossing his arms and stewing in his anger.

In his mind Neji wished that he could have struck the man himself. Not killed him, but certainly make sure he didn't act in such a way towards his family. In the back of his mind he begrudgingly thanked Askia for interceding.

Askia turned from the rest of the group and started to walk off. "Neji, come with me. Takeshi, if I come back to find one mark or bruise on the girl you will regret it."

His body obeying the command without input from his mind, Neji followed Askia to a secluded corner of the room.

When they had moved out of earshot of the other two Askia stopped and looked at Neji, who followed suit. "I feel that I must apologize, Neji."

Neji's eyes narrowed at that statement. "Apologize? For what?"

Askia leaned against a nearby wall. "For several things for which I am truly sorry. I'm sorry for your current condition, I'm sorry for the mission that you had to take part in, and I'm sorry for the thoughtless way that Takeshi acted just a moment ago."

"I don't understand," Neji said, "you are not a truly bad man, Askia. Why do you serve this organization?"

"The Master fights for peace," Askia responded, "I wish only to further that cause."

"Really?" Neji asked. "You have done horrible things in the name of peace, how can you claim to further it?"

Askia closed his eyes. "I am but a part of The Master's greater vision, only he knows the totality of it, and only he who knows where each piece should fall. I am a drop of rain, a bolt of lighting and he is the storm that feeds the fields, waters the trees and flowers, and allows for life to bloom. I cannot see the whole area that the rain covers."

"How can your rain and lighting lead to peace?" Neji retorted. "Tell me, how does kidnapping my niece and framing the Sand for it create peace?"

Askia opened his eyes and stared into Neji's own. For a moment the Hyuga was unsure what the Left Hand of The Master would say or do next. Askia then moved off of the wall and started to walk away.

"Come, let us join the others," Askia said as he walked past Neji, who followed after him.

* * *

A few more hours passed and The Master had still not arrived.

"I swear, if this takes one minute longer…" Takeshi growled.

"…you'll do nothing," Hitoshi interrupted.

Neji's came to attention as he felt a presence enter the barrier around the storehouse. "He's here."

No sooner had Neji said that than the entrance to the warehouse opened. A figure walked in and the door closed behind him. As the figure the lights seemed to dim, making it harder to see.

Askia bowed to the figure. "Master, the mission was successful."

The Master came to a stop, standing over the sleeping form of Himawari, his face still impossible to see in the dimmed light. "I see. Good work, Askia. Wake her."

Hitoshi leaned next to the child and touched the child on the forehead, injecting a small amount of his chakra into her and disrupting the genjutsu that he had placed.

Himawari opened her eyes almost immediately. She sat up and blinked sheepishly before looking looking up at The Master and tilting her head slightly to the side. "Who are you?"

"Have no fear, child," The Master said, almost warmly, "I wish merely to facilitate a little family get together. Turn around."

Slowly Himawari turned to look over her shoulder at Neji. "Who are you?"

Neji kneeled down in front of her. Himawari looked at his face for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "Uncle Neji?!" Laughing happily she energetically jumped up at Neji, hugging him around the neck as he wrapped his arms around the flying child. She continued to laugh as she gripped around his shoulders, until she suddenly stopped.

Himawari leaned back, hanging from his shoulders. She lifted one hand placed it on his face. "Uncle Neji, you're cold."

Neji's eyes widened as she said that. "Yes, I am." Neji came to realize the worst part of this fate he had been subjected to. Yes, he could walk, talk, and fight. But he also couldn't eat, drink, sleep. He could not feel the warmth of another, and they couldn't feel warmth from him. In this world of the living, he could be among them, but not of them.


	22. Beginning to Doubt

XXII: Beginning to Doubt

Askia

Askia smiled as he watched the scene in front of him. Himawari Uzamaki, freshly awoken and introduced to Neji, immediately gave him a big hug. It was a heartwarming scene.

The Master saw fit to interrupt it. "Its time continue with our missions. Hitoshi, you'll be taking care of our little guest here. See that she remains out of our enemy's hands and alive. You'll be traveling between different hideouts to keep you hard to track. Never stay at one place for too long. Takeshi and Neji will be acting as her guards."

"Understood, my Lord," the medical ninja replied.

The Master nodded in confirmation and turned to his Left Hand. "Askia, you've been doing good work for me these past few weeks. Return with me to the village, take some time to recuperate."

Askia bowed his head. "As you wish, my Lord"

The Master turned to leave. "Very well, then. Come, Askia. The rest of you carry on." The Master then began to walk towards the exit.

Askia made to follow his leader but was stopped when he heard Neji's voice behind him. "Askia, remember what I told you."

Askia stopped and looked at the deceased Hyuga from over his shoulder. However, he decided not to say anything before turning back and continuing on his way.

* * *

"You're not a truly bad man, Askia," the voice rang out in the darkness. "You've done horrible things in the name of peace, how can you claim to further it?"

Images flashed, one after the other. Horrible acts. Little ones, like theft and blackmail. Major ones, like assassination and kidnapping. Every terrible thing that he had done over the past several months, everything he'd done for peace, done by the order and in the name of The Master, showed itself from the darkness, only appearing for a moment, but each leaving a mark on his soul.

Out of the darkness stepped a child. The child stood in a spotlight on a background of empty blackness. As she took a step towards him Askia recognized her as Himawari Uzamaki. Another step and he that she was crying. A third and he saw that they were tears of blood.

Himawari took a fourth step. "Why did you take me from my father and mother, why?"

Askia tried to stammer out a response. "It was-was for the-the Master. I meant…"

Suddenly, the face of Neji Hyuga appeared from the blackness over Himawari's shoulder. "Askia, you enabled my resurrection to happen. You allowed your master to use me against my family, to perverse everything for which I fought, stood, and died for."

Askia, reaching out towards Neji, tried to plead with him. "I was only doing what I thought to be right!"

Neji's eyes looked down at Askia's hands. "My eyes see something to which you are willfully blind, look at your hands, and see what they have wrought."

Askia looked down at his hands, his eyes widening in horror. They were submerged in a waterfall of blood which he followed back up to a thousand corpses hanging above him, with 2000 dead eyes staring at him, accusing him, hating him, damning him.

Askia looked back down and saw that the blood was pooling at his feet, quickly filling the space around him. The blood quickly came up to his waist, then his chest. He made one last gasp for air as his head was submerged. He tried to swim but his limbs could not move. He struggled against the weight of the blood, of his sins, but could not budge. As the last of the light began to fade from his sight, his eyes opened.

Askia woke with a start and, his mind still at some level thinking that the dream had been real, frantically rushed to an adjoining bathroom to wash the blood from his hands. He turned on the faucet, letting the cold water run over his hands as he feverishly scrubbed them. After a moment he stopped, fully realizing that it had been a dream.

He flipped on the lights and looked at himself in the mirror. There was, indeed, no blood on his body. But one thing that he noticed was that he certainly looked tired.

"This has to stop," Askia said to himself. It had been a couple of days since Askia had completed his most recent mission, the kidnapping of Himawari Uzamaki. He removed his nightclothes and stepped into the shower, turning on the water and making it as cold as he could. He let the water run over him for over half an hour as he just stood under the shower head.

After getting out of the shower he pulled on some comfortable clothes and a poncho and left his apartment, hoping to find a way to push the dream out of his head. Predictably, it was raining in the Village Hidden in the Rain.

* * *

Wandering through the village for the better part of an hour Askia finally came to a bar that he frequented.

Askia stepped inside and walked to the bar without bothering to remove his wet poncho. He massaged his temples as the bartender walked up to him.

"My lord Left Hand, its good to see you," the man said.

Askia looked up at the bartender. "Thank you. Bottle of saké, please."

The man pulled a bottle and a drinking cup from a nearby cabinet and placed them in front of Askia. Askia grabbed the bottle and took a swing as he started to look around at his surroundings.

It was late at night and most of the people in the bar looked either to be shady characters or, like Askia, depressed or otherwise emotionally troubled.

"Another rough night?" the bartender asked as he picked up a glass and started to polish it.

Askia sighed and took swing from the saké bottle. "Yes."

The bartender held the glass up to the dim light and inspected his handiwork. "How many weeks has it been now? And how many times a week? Not including times that you haven't been in the village, of course."

"I don't know," Askia said, "and I don't want to think about it."

The man behind the bar took the glass and stowed it away. "You're going to have to find a way through this, it isn't good for you."

"Yeah, yeah," Askia replied, "I know."

Out of the corner of his eye Askia noticed a figure that didn't exactly fit in with the rest of the people in the bar. While most everyone in the building were either holding quiet conversations in some dark corner or solemnly minding the contents of their cups, this fellow was sitting against the wall, neither drinking or talking.

"Hey," Askia said to the bartender, motioning to the figure, "who is that? The guy with the big grey cloak."

The bartender looked at the man. "Ah, him. He came in here earlier in the day. He's mostly just been sitting there. I thought he looked a bit a young to be drinking but he hasn't really been asking for anything. Just sitting there not bothering anybody so I haven't bothered him."

No sooner has that been said did the man stand up and started to walk towards the bar. Askia looked at the bartender with an eyebrow raised. The response came in the form of a shrug of the shoulders before the bartender was distracted by another customer and went to attend to them.

The man sat next to Askia. Now that they were closer he could see that the man did appear to be young, indeed not a man but a boy of 15 or 16. He could also see that he had short and messy red hair underneath of his hood.

"I don't mean to be rude," the red haired boy said, "but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

Askia took a swing of saké. "Its not a problem. What's your name?"

"Aka," the man answered.

Askia chuckled. "Huh, that's funny."

"So you say," Aka responded, "tell me, you sound like an important person. The Left Hand?"

A little bit tipsy, Askia gave little thought to this line of questioning as he finished off his bottle and motioned to the bartender for another. "Yes, I serve at the left of The Master."

Aka grabbed a bottle from behind the counter and placed it in front of Askia. "I'm afraid I don't know much about him, can you tell me?"

Askia snorted out a short laugh as he lifted the bottle to his lips. "No one knows a lot about the Master, not even I," he said before taking a big sip of saké.

"Still," Aka replied, "you must know more than I do."

Askia sighed, as this was a question that he was asked relatively often. "The Master came to power a little under a year ago, proclaiming himself the heir to Lord Pain. Some claim that he was a member of the Akatsuki, though I don't know if there's any truth to that."

"Whatever happened to the Council of Seven?" Aka asked.

Askia smiled sheepishly. "The Master removed those fools from power. They left the Hidden Rain weak. The Master will make the village strong, and lead us to an era of peace."

Aka stood up. "I thank you, sir. But I'm afraid that I must be on my way." Aka then placed some money on the bar, enough for the two bottles of saké that Askia had ordered and a third.

Askia looked at the money and back at Aka. "Wait-"

The red haired man walked out the bar without a word, leaving Askia to his drinks. Askia ordered that third bottle of saké and continued to work on his second. He had sounded so sure about the Master's goals when he had spoken of them just now, but in his mind he was beginning to doubt.


	23. Be There

XXIII: Be There

Naruto

It was late in the morning and Naruto was in his office, sitting at his desk, with Shikamaru standing off to his left and Shizune to his right. It was the day following his excursion to the Hidden Sand and there was one goal that stood paramount in his mind.

"You understand the mission that I'm giving you? I'm counting on you," Naruto said.

Kiba nodded in answer. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll find her. Just give me a team and I'll bring her back in no time."

"Good," Naruto said, "I was thinking-"

Everyone was distracted when the door burst open and Hinata walked in, wearing a jacket and a pair of pants and for possibly the first time years she had her headband hanging around her neck. "I'm coming too."

Naruto blinked in surprise as his wife walked into the room. "Hinata? What are you doing here?"

Hinata, with a look of intensity about her, stood next to Kiba and drew herself to attention. "You heard me, I'm going on this mission."

Naruto sat there with his mouth hanging opening, trying to think of what to say. "…Are you sure? What about Bolt? He needs you."

Hinata shook her head emphatically. "Himawari needs me more. Besides, Bolt has you."

Naruto made to say something, but then thought better of it. He then turned to Shizune. "Reactivate Hinata Hyuga's commission, she's going on this mission."

Shizune nodded. "Understood."

Hinata smiled. "Thank you."

Naruto put a hand to his chin in thought. "Now, we need one or two more members."

"I believe that I'd be a good choice," a low, monotone voice said from the hall. Everyone looked at the doorway to see Shino stepping through. "After all, I have enormous skill and experience in tracking and I've worked with both Kiba and Hinata extensively."

"Shino," Hinata said, "you'll come with us?"

Shino walked into the room and stood by his former teammates. "Of course. Himawari is precious to all of us, and we will not stop until we've brought her home."

Naruto smiled at that. "Looks like we've got ourselves a good squad here." He turned to face Shikamaru. "What do you think, Shino should lead the mission?"

"I agree," Shikamaru said.

"Shino?!" Kiba exclaimed. "Why does Shino lead the mission? I'm the highest ranked person on this team, the only jonin!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Shino and Hinata are only still chunin because they haven't been on active duty in years. Besides, Shino was always the most natural leader of your group."

"Alright," Kiba said, defeated.

Naruto stood up from seat. "Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga, your mission is to find and retrieve Himawari Uzamaki from her kidnappers!"

* * *

It was past noon and Naruto was sitting alone in his office, working on some papers. Shizune and Shikamaru had already left to grab some lunch and it had been over an hour since Shino, Kiba, and Hinata had left the village.

Naruto looked up from his desk when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked Iruka, carrying a couple boxes in his hands. He smiled and held up the boxes for Naruto to see. "Hey Naruto, I thought you might like some Ichiraku!"

Naruto smiled at his former teacher and stood up. "That sounds great, Iruka-sensei!"

"I heard about Himawari," Iruka said as Naruto walked up next to him, "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Naruto said solemnly as he led his former teacher to nearby break room.

The two sat across from each other as they unpacked the still hot ramen from the takeout containers. Naruto happily sucked up the ramen from his bowl, having not eaten since breakfast early in the morning.

Iruka paused from his meal. "Have you sent anybody after Himawari yet?"

"I sent Shino, Hinata, and Kiba eariler today," Naruto said as he slurped up noddles.

"I see," Iruka said, "recreating the old Team Kurenai. Not what I expected but they're the best for the job."

"I think so," Naruto replied.

"Naruto, how is Bolt doing?" Iruka asked.

Naruto swallowed a mouthful of noodles before answering. "I've haven't talked to him yet. I'll see him at the end of the day."

"Naruto," Iruka said sternly, "you should go talk to him. His sister is missing and his mother will be gone for who knows how long looking for her. You're all he has right now."

Naruto sighed. "Yes, I know. But there are responsibilities that I have, things I must do as the Hokage."

Iruka leaned back in his seat. "Naruto, you've become a great ninja and Hokage and I'm immensely proud of you, but you must learn to balance work and family."

"I know," Naruto replied, "but its like trying…trying to look left and right at the same time! Why didn't I think of that before?!"

Iruka stared in confusion as Naruto suddenly stood up. "What's up?"

Naruto smiled and drained his bowl of broth before walking out of the break room. "I've got an idea, thanks Iruka-sensei!"

"Your…welcome?" Iruka said, still confused.

* * *

Naruto could hear crying coming from his son's room. He slowly approached the door and knocked. "Bolt, its me, can I come in?"

He could hear the sound of sniffling as Bolt likely tried to dry his tears. "Yeah, you can come in, Dad."

Naruto opened the door to find Bolt sitting on his bed, looking out of the window at the bright summer's day. He walked over and sat beside him. "Temari giving you time off?"

Bolt nodded. "Yes."

"What are you thinking about?" Naruto asked.

"How the world can be so bright at times like this," Bolt answered.

Naruto put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You don't have to act brave, Bolt."

Bolt half turned in his seat and stared at his father in indignation. "I'm not acting brave, Dad! I'm strong like you!"

Naruto looked back out of the window. "I'm worried about your mother and sister too."

Bolt's expression softened as tears began to flow down his face. "Can she really do it?" he said as the tears began to subside. "Mom, that is."

"Your mother is strong and she's angry," Naruto replied, "nothing will stand in her way."

Bolt chuckled. "I've seen Mom when she's angry, its not that scary."

Naruto smiled and chuckled at that. "You've seen her annoyed, or peeved. When she's angry you won't know until its too late. That's truly terrifying. Don't worry, she'll be back with Himawari in no time."

Bolt smiled and dried the tears from his eyes. "Okay."

Naruto patted his son on the back. "Come on, let's go get you some lunch."

* * *

"Here you go, two bowls of ramen on the house," Teuchi Ichiraku said as you put one bowl each in front of Naruto and Bolt.

Naruto looked down at the ramen in mild surprise. "You're giving this to us for free, old man?"

Teuchi shrugged his shoulders and started to clean some dishes. "I heard about Himawari being taken. Its the least that I can do."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, old man."

Naruto and Bolt slurped down their bowls and quickly ordered more. Before long Naruto was on his fifth bowl and Bolt his sixth.

"Well, well," Teuchi said as he put a bowl in front of Bolt, "you're becoming quite the big eater aren't you now?"

Bolt laughed between mouthfuls of noodles. "I'm a growing boy now, aren't I?"

Teuchi laughed at that. "Like father, like son, I guess."

"Yeah, sure," Bolt said in a somewhat melancholy manner.

Naruto finished his bowl and started to fish around in his pockets. "Hey old man, I'm sorry but I've got to go." He pulled some money out of his pocket and put it on the counter. "Here you go. Bolt, you know how to get home from here."

"Um…yeah, sure," Bolt responded.

Naruto then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Naruto was sitting in his office working on some papers when he heard a ruckus coming from the hall. He looked up to see Bolt barging in through the door.

"Bolt," Naruto said, "was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Bolt pointed a finger angrily at his father. "What the hell was that, Dad? You sent a shadow clone to look after me?"

"What's the problem?" Naruto asked. "It knows everything I know when I create it and I remember everything that it learns, its the same as me being there."

Bolt, seething in rage, took several steps towards Naruto. "The difference is that it isn't you! If I punch you you don't disappear in a cloud of smoke! Its like I'm not even worth your time!"

"Bolt," Naruto said, "that's not it at all, I just…"

"I don't want to hear about it!" Bolt said as he stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

Naruto sighed to himself. This was something that he would have to fix at some point. He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard more noise from the hall. "Bolt, is that you?"

The door burst open not for the first time that day and Teuchi stepped through, carrying a large ladle. "Naruto! You need to pay me!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused.

Teuchi started to bash the Hokage over the head with his ladle. "When your shadow clone dispelled the money that it gave me disappeared as well! You need to pay me with actual money!"

"Ow! Ow!" Naruto said as he covered his head with his hands. "I'll get you your money, I swear! Just hold on!"

Naruto moaned as he handed the cash over to the ramen shop owner. It was his clone that ate it, not him, so didn't even gain that much from it.

"Naruto," Teuchi said as he left the office, "when it comes to your family, just be there."


	24. Training Days

XXIV: Training Days

Temari

Temari sat in the tree branches as she watched her students performing basic drills and exercises. At the moment they were simply throwing shuriken at targets, something they had been doing since the earliest of their academy days, but a good chance to see where her students were at before she got to more serious training.

Haruto Hyuga was the picture of perfection as far as shuriken throwing went. He was focused, wasted no energy in his throws, and was both precise and accurate. Tora Yamato was a different story, alternating between clean and concise to throws and, after every time she missed, angry, forceful ones that often went awry, only causing her to get angrier and do worse. This was normal behavior for the both of them.

Bolt, on the other hand, was not his normal self. It was his first day back with the team since his sister had been kidnapped and the emotional toll that took on him could be seen in his technique. Normally his form was loose and relaxed and he wore a face that always seemed to be at a half smirk, constantly thinking of ways to prank his teammates, which he did often.

Today, however, Bolt was completely focused and his form tense. He focused on the target exclusively, never letting his eyes waver from that. Each throw was more forceful than the last, each shuriken hitting the wood with a loud thud as it dug itself into the wood.

Deciding that she had seen enough, Temari called the three genin's attention to herself. "Hey, come here, you can stop now."

The three stopped what they were doing and gathered at the base of the tree that Temari was sitting in.

"Well," Temari said, "based on what I've heard about you three from the academy instructors and what I've seen during missions and training, I think it's safe to say that you three all have very good chakra control."

Tora responded by pumping her fist into the air and yelling, "ah, yeah, I'm awesome." Haruto smirked in self satisfaction but didn't say anything. Bolt merely kept his eyes firmly trained on his sensei, an intensity still about his demeanor.

Temari stood up and continued with her little speech. "So, I've decided to advance your chakra control training a bit ahead of schedule."

Tora stopped her fist pumping celebration before staring at her teacher blankly for a moment, then pointing a finger at her accusingly. "Wait, I thought you said that our charka control was awesome!"

"I said that its good, which is why I'm going to teach you how to harness it," Temari said.

"Alright, sensei," Haruto said, "what do you want to teach us?"

Temari closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as she began to fall backwards from her perch. She could hear her students gasp in dismay and she smiled slyly. At the point where normally her feet would have lost contact with the tree and let her fall head first to the ground they instead gripped the bark. She swung down, attached to the tree branch, and looked at her students from her upside down position, a bit like a bat.

Tora looked on in amazement, Haruto barely registered a response, and Bolt showed no change in his expression. Silently, Temari thanked herself for remembering to wear pants today, because if she had been wearing a skirt it would have been more of an embarrassing display than an impressive one.

"You see," Temari said, "this is a basic skill that requires good chakra control. It allows you to stand and walk on vertical or upside down surfaces. By gathering chakra at the point of contact, namely the soles feet in this case, and releasing it in a steady flow you can adhere to the surface."

She then drew three kunai from her holster and three them at the feet of the three genin. "You will take these Kunai and mark the highest point on the tree you can reach without using your hands. Keep going until you get to the top of the tree."

All three genin quickly pulled the kunai from the ground in front of them and put themselves a few feet away from the tree of their choice. After a few moments of focusing their chakra they all made a running start at the tree and began their ascent.

Haruto made it halfway up the tree before he lost traction and he slipped off the trunk before slashing his kunai over the bark. As to be expected he had excellent control, as the Gentle Fist was a style that relied on and fostered the ability to manipulate raw chakra. Now all Haruto needed to do was learn how much chakra he needed to apply.

To Temari's surprise Tora made it nearly as far as Haruto on her first attempt before she applied to much chakra and repulsed herself away from the tree. Angry at her own failure she went at it again, but this time didn't reach her previous mark. With each attempt she got progressively more and more enraged and did worse and worse.

Bolt was the biggest disappointment of the bunch. Though she had not had as many chances to observe him as she had the others, Temari thought that his chakra control would be up to snuff but it wasn't looking that way. He barely got anywhere on his first try and could only advance a few steps further on each go. Between runs he would spend an unusual amount of time just standing around, sulking.

After watching them for a while Temari decided that it was time for a bit of lecturing. She let herself fall down to the ground, flipping over and landing on her feet. She walked over to Tora, who had just fallen off and was fuming over her own failure.

"Tora, come with me," Temari said calmly.

Without waiting for the girl to calm herself down Temari started to walk away, leaving Tora to hurry after her. She eventually stopped just out of earshot of her other two students.

"What is it, sensei?" Tora asked in an annoyed tone.

"Tora," Temari said, "you need to calm down."

"What are you talking about?" Tora yelled as she slammed her fist into a tree. "I'm calm!"

Temari pulled her fan from its holster and whacked her student upside the head with it. "No, you're not! Now do what I say!"

Tora fell into a sitting position on the ground and rubbed the back of her head. "Ow. Ok, sensei."

Temari leaned down in front of the genin, stowing her fan as she did so. "Part of chakra in spiritual energy, so if you let yourself get too riled up, let your emotions get ahead of you, it will only make you mess up."

"What," Tora replied, "I have to suppress my emotions?"

Temari shook her head. "No. But you must learn to not let them control you. You are the master of your own heart. Use your anger, try to channel it in a positive way."

Tora looked up at Temari for a moment, processing the information. Then she stood up. "Thank you, sensei," she said before walking away and resuming her training.

Temari walked over to Bolt, who had just fallen off the tree having only made it a quarter of the way up it. As the boy sat crossed legged on the ground Temari came up behind him and touched him gently on the shoulder. "Hey, lets talk," she said before leading him away from the others.

She took Bolt out to a nearby clearing from which the Hokage Monument was clearly visible. Temari sat down on the ground cross legged and her student followed suit.

"What do you want to talk about, Temari-sensei?" Bolt asked sullenly.

"You tell me," the jonin replied.

The young Uzamaki looked up at the Hokage Monument. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Bolt," Temari said, "your sister has been kidna…"

"I know!" Bolt yelled. "You don't need to tell me."

Temari leaned back on her hands and looked at the Hokage Monument. "Bottling your emotions will do nothing good. I can already tell that your training is suffering. Tell me, I'm your teacher, I'll listen."

Bolt closed his eyes and hanged his head, visibly holding back tears. "Yes, my sister has been kidnapped and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel so helpless."

Temari nodded. "Hm, I know what you mean. I remember when my youngest brother was captured by the Akutsuki. He was Kazekage, and I was a jonin, but I still felt helpless all the while."

Bolt looked up at her wide eyed, surprised to find someone who had been in a situation similar to his. "What happened? What did you do?"

Temari focused her attention on Naruto's face carved into the cliffside. "Your father saved him, wouldn't stop until Gaara made it home. They were both Jinchuriki and that made them brothers in all but name and blood and Naruto wouldn't let anything stop him." She looked back at Bolt. "If he did that for my brother, do you think he would fail to find his daughter?"

Bolt looked back at her for moment, then he silently nodded.

Temari watched her student as he turned his attention to his father's stone face. He stared at it for several moments before speaking. "There is something else that's been bothering me."

"What?" Temari asked.

"I love my dad," Bolt said, "but I don't want to be like him, you know. I want to be a ninja who's recognized on his own, not only as the son of the Hokage. I know that I don't possess Byakugan, but I've been wandering if there are any techniques from my mom's clan that I can learn."

"Hm," Temari said as she thought. "Perhaps. Tell you what, I'll go ask some people about it after training today. If you make it to the top of the tree."

Bolt stood up and nodded eagerly. "You got it, sensei." He then ran off back towards the training area to resume the tree climbing exercise.

As he disappeared from view Temari stood up and began to slowly walk back herself. When she arrived at the site she found Haruto standing at the base of his tree. Walking up to him she said, "Haruto, is something up?"

Haruto smiled proudly and pointed up. Temari turned her eyes up and could barely see a kunai embedded at the top of the tree. "Ah, I see, you've already made it."

"Of course," the Hyuga prodigy said smugly.

Temari saw an incoming form from the corner of her eye. "I see you're not the only one."

"Huh?" Haruto said as he turned to see Tora land next to them.

"Temari-sensei, I did it!" Tora said with a smile.

Temari returned the expression. "I knew you could." She turned to Haruto. "Seems you're not the only talented one around here." Perhaps that would take the prodigy down a peg.

"Hey look, at me!" Temari heard above her head. She looked up to see Bolt already standing on top of his tree.

"You did it that quickly after our little talk?" Temari called up.

"Yeah, impressive, right?" Bolt replied.

Temari smirked. "Yes, but only a little. Now get down here."

"Alright," Bolt yelled. He came down from his perch, jumping from branch to branch as he went. As he neared the end of his descent he slipped and began to scream and fall. The other three members of the team looked on in shook before the boy calmly twisted to stand on the underside of the branch. Bolt looked down at them and laughed.

"Bolt," Temari fumed, "stop messing around and get down here!"

"Alright, alright," Bolt said as he jumped the rest of the distance down to the ground.

When Bolt landed Temari, in one smooth motion, drew her fan, smacked her student upside the head with it, and returned her weapon to its holster. Bolt fell on his rear and started to rub the back of his head.

"Ow, sensei what was that for?" he asked.

"That," Temari yelled, "was for scaring us! We were all worried about you!"

"Hm?" Bolt said as he stared back at her with lavender eyes. He then smiled and started to scratch the back of head and giggle slightly.

Temari sighed. "Well, I guess that's our training for today. Go home and rest."

"I got it," Haruto said as he started it walk away.

"Understood," Tora said as she did the same.

"Sensei?" Bolt said.

"Yes, Bolt?" Temari replied.

"Are you going to do what you promised?" the Uzamaki asked.

Temari nodded. "Of course."

Bolt smiled and nodded. "Alright, see you later!"

Temari watched her three students leave the training area. When they had gone she went as well.

* * *

Temari pushed open the door at the Hidden Leaf's premier weapons store. At the counter sat a bored looking Tenten, who perked up at the sight of someone coming into her shop.

"Oh, Temari, are you looking for some weapons for a mission?" the kunoichi asked enthusiastically.

"No," Temari replied, "I was just wandering if you knew where Lee is."

Tenten looked deflated at that comment. "Oh. You're probably going to find him at training ground 10, teaching his genin."

Temari waved goodbye as she turned and exited the shop. "Alright, thanks."

As Temari stepped out onto the street she heard Tenten reply, "no problem. Though you could've bought something."

Luckily for Temari, training ground 10 was nearby and in not even 10 minutes she was already there. Finding Lee was also little trouble, since his brand training often involved lots of intense screaming and yelling. She followed the sounds until she found him putting his students through a series of taijutsu drills.

Temari stood at the edge of the training area, watching them. After a short time Lee noticed her and walked over to her, leaving his students to continue their training.

"Temari, I must admit that I am surprised to see you here, I would have thought you would be teaching your students how best to use their youth." Lee said as he neared the Sand kunoichi.

"I had some other things I needed to take care of, so ended training early," Temari said. "How are they doing?" she asked, nodding towards the three genin.

Lee came up next to Temari and turned to face his students. "They are doing well. Spike continues to excel, I am considering going ahead and teaching him how to open the Gate of Opening and the Primary Lotus. However, I think he should also get tutoring on ninjutsu. It would be wrong of me to hold him to the same limitations as me when he doesn't have to."

"He reminds me a lot of a young you," Temari said.

Lee nodded. "Yes, I have been told that often."

"What about the other two?" Temari asked. "I see you have a Hyuga on your squad."

"Yes," Lee said, "Hiruto is of the Hyuga. He idolizes Neji, wants to be called a genius just like him. Furthermore, he dreams of one day being a member of the Hokage Guard."

Temari turned her head to look at Lee. "What is he like? I have Haruto on my squad and he's remarkably arrogant."

"Yes," Lee said, "Hiruto and Haruto are first cousins, born only a few weeks apart. However, Haruto was always more talented and was born first, giving him precedence in the line of succession. Hiruto views beating his cousin as the first step towards achieving his dreams. He is loud and likes to brag, but he works hard."

"I see, sounds like you too" Temari said. "What about the girl?"

"Ah, Kano," Lee replied, "she is quiet, likes to keep to herself. However, this does not mean that she is shy. She works as hard as anyone, with a quiet and intense focus. She also is very quick and agile. However, she lacks hitting power. I am hoping to help her improve her strength. What of your students?"

"Doing well," Temari replied, "they have already finished the tree climbing exercise."

"Oh, they have?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Temari answered. "There is something else though. Bolt asked me if their are any Hyuga clan techniques that he can learn that don't require the Byakugan. I thought that I should ask you about it."

"Hm," Lee said, "there are certain Hyuga jutsu that don't require the Byakugan directly, such as the Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation. I would ask Lord Hiashi about it if I were you, he already agreed to start giving Hiruto private lessons."

"Looks like I'm going to have to visit the Hyuga Compound," Temari said as she turned from Lee and waved goodbye to the taijutsu master as she walked away. "Thanks, Lee."

Lee waved back at her. "It is not a problem, Temari."

* * *

The Hyuga were powerful, ancient, steeped in tradition, and they had old money. Everything in their compound spoke to that, from the buildings and gardens to the streets themselves, there was a classical beauty to the entire area. Even the homes of the most humble branch member was larger and more beautiful than those of all but the most elite of the village. That was what Temari had thought when she had come to the Hyuga Compound for the first time and it was reaffirmed on each occasion that she visited, including this one.

She sat in the entrance hall of the Main Family's home, waiting for an audience with the Hyuga Clan Head. It was late in the afternoon and Temari had arrived not thirty minutes earlier with a request. Now she was patiently waiting to be given an audience.

The sliding panel door that led into the Clan Head's audience chamber opened and a servant poked her head out. "You may come in now."

Temari nodded and stood. She walked into the chamber and sat in the center of the room. She was surprised to see Hanabi Hyuga sitting in front of her.

Hanabi bowed her head toward her guest. "Welcome, Temari, I understand that you have request to make."

"Um…" Temari said, "I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that I would be meeting with your father. Is he not still the Head of the Hyuga Clan?"

"He is," Hanabi replied, "however, he is planning on retiring within the next year, so I have been assuming more of the responsibilities of clan leader as part of the transition process."

"Ah, I understand," Temari said, "then I would like to know if I may teach one the Hyuga family jutsu to my students."

Hanabi shook her head. "I am sorry, that is not my area to rule on, my father still retains control over the passing of the family techniques." The Hyuga heiress stood up. "I will take you to him."

Temari stood and followed the younger kunoichi to the outdoor garden and training ground in the center of the home. Hiashi Hyuga was sitting cross legged in the center of the space. Hanabi stopped at the door and motioned for Temari to continue.

Temari walked closer to the Hyuga leader. Pushing sixty, Hiashi had aged well, with the few wrinkles on his face and the thin streaks of silver in his long black hair serving to make him look more dignified than old.

"Sit," Hiashi said as Temari approached, motioning to a spot next to him.

Temari did as she was bid. When she had taken a seat she noticed that Hiashi's eyes were closed and they remained so as he addressed her. "Was there something you wished to ask of me?"

"Yes," Temari replied, "I was wondering if you would supply me with a Gentle First Technique that could have my students work with."

"Students?" Hiashi's tone of voice sounded perplexed, though his facial expression did not change. "I knew that Haruto was under your tutelage, but is there another I don't know of?"

Temari shifted her sitting position. "Bolt would like to learn some Hyuga techniques if that's possible."

Hiashi's face was lit up by a small but warm smile. "Bolt, huh? He does not possess the Byakugan, but I wonder…"

"Wonder what, Lord Hiashi?" Temari asked.

Hiashi opened his eyes. "There are in fact two Kekkai Genkai that the Hyuga possess. The first you know, the Byakugan. We also possess the innate ability to expel chakra from any and all of the body's chakra points and it has always been assumed that, like the Byakugan itself, it cannot be inherited through the female line. However, this has never been confirmed."

"So we can see if it works with Bolt," Temari said.

Hiashi stood up and straightened his clothes. "Perhaps. Tell both Haruto and Bolt that they may receive training from myself and my daughter, everyday in the afternoon, after they have finished their time with you."

Temari bowed her head toward the Hyuga Clan Head. "Thank you lord, Hiashi."

"It is no problem," he replied. "if that is all, you may leave now."

Hiashi then called a servant, who escorted Temari out of the home. She quickly left the Hyuga Compound, the sun hanging low in the western sky.

* * *

Temari trudged her way up to the front door of her home. When she entered the house she quickly removed her sandals and stored her fan away. She immediately started to make her way to the living room, hoping to lay on the couch. It had been a long day and Temari wanted nothing more than to lay down and rest her weary feet.

When she turned the corner to her destination she was disappointed to see her son already taking up the couch. Shikadai was laying there with his eyes closed.

Temari stepped up next to the couch. "Shikadai, get up."

Shikadai opened one eye, looked at his mother, then closed them again. "Why should I, Mom?"

Temari took a deep breath. "Because I'm tired and I told you to do it."

Shikadai opened his eye again and looked at Temari. "Alright, Mom," he said as he slowly rolled off the couch and stood up.

As soon as her son had vacated the area Temari laid down on the couch, putting up her sore feet. She remained there for a good long while, her eyes closed but not sleeping. Eventually she heard the sound of footsteps. She peered out of one eye to see her husband take a seat on a nearby armchair.

"Long day?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari closed her eye again. "Yes."

She heard a slight chuckle from her husband. "Teaching, it's hard work, isn't it? Such a drag."

"That it is," Temari said, too tired to think of anything more substantive.

"Students, though," Shikamaru continued, "they have a way of snaking into your heart. Before long your willing to go to great lengths for them."

Temari opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Shikamaru. "Sure, but…"

"But what?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari stared up at the ceiling. "They are extremely tiring, these training days."


	25. Awakened

XXV: Awakened

Sarada

Sarada was on the porch out in front of her house, sitting alone in the late morning sun. It had been three day since Team Naruto had been formed and squad had yet to do anything. No training sessions, no mission, not even a team meeting.

As she sat there with not much to do, Sarada noticed Shikadai and Inojin walking down the street.

"…of Konohamaru-sensei?" Sarada heard Inojin say as the two boys came within earshot.

Shikadai, lagging slightly behind the Yamanaka, shrugged his shoulders in response. "Alright, I guess. He's the same as he's always been. Wish we'd get more breaks, though."

Inojin turned so that he was walking backwards as he talked to Shikadai. "Maybe we'd get more breaks if you actually tried during training and Chocho didn't take every break as an opportunity to have a six-course meal."

Shikadai shrugged again. "Maybe. It's all a drag, really. Besides, my dad told me that we're already better than our parents were when they were our ages."

"That's no reason to be lazy," Inojin replied.

"Whatever," Shikadai said lazily. "Hopefully we don't get another mission today, because the last one was…"

Sarada slowly got out of her seat as the boys exited her hearing range. With her mother gone at work the house seemed eerily empty and so Sarada elected to go out to the backyard where she had a target set up. Once she got outside she started working with throwing kunai and shuriken, if only to keep in some semblance of a rhythm.

After about twenty minutes Sarada stopped, feeling a presence watching her. She turned to see Shizune standing at the gate, watching her.

"I tried the front door," Shizune said, "but you didn't answer, so came to check out back."

Sarada relaxed from her knife throwing stance, wiping away the small beads of sweat that were forming on her forehead before removing her glasses and cleaning them. "What is it?"

"The Hokage is summoning you, Sarada. I already informed the rest of your squad, so we'll leave whenever you're ready."

Sarada gave a short nod to show her understanding before walking back inside. There wasn't a whole she needed to do to prepare, just gathering some standard supplies. When she quickly done and exiting the building from the front door, having made sure that the house was locked and secure.

Shizune stood outside waiting for Sarada. "Ready? Let's go."

With that said the two left the Uchiha residence in the direction of the Hokage's. They walked in silence, Sarada finding no compelling reason to say anything and if Shizune had anything to say about the reason behind the summon she was keeping it to herself.

Eventually they reached the Hokage Residence and Shizune escorted her to the mission assignment room, a simple, open room with a couple of long tables and big windows. The Hokage sat at one of these tables next to Shikamaru, with Ronin and Natsuko standing in the middle of the room across the table from them.

Sarada moved to stand with her teammates as Shizune took up a seat next to Naruto.

"Well," Shikamaru said as everyone got into place, "I think its about time for you guys to go on a mission."

"A mission?!" Ronin exclaimed. "We haven't even had any training sessions together!"

"Yes, but you need to complete missions to help support the village," Shikamaru replied. "If your sensei doesn't give you training between missions that is his problem," he added as he glanced over at Naruto, who smiled awkwardly.

"In any case," Shikamaru said as he pulled a paper from a stack on the table, "I think that we should start you with a nice D-rank-"

"Nonsense," Naruto interrupted, "we'll do a C-rank."

"Um, Naruto," Shikamaru said, "they're rookies, they're not ready for a C-rank mission."

"They'll never learn anything on a D-rank," the Hokage replied. "Besides, I remember how boring they are." He filed through the stack of papers and pulled one out. "This should do, a group of bandits harassing a farming village less than half a day from here."

Naruto read through the mission details a few times before making a hand sign and creating a shadow clone, who walked around the table to stand with the three genin.

"Me," the original Naruto said, "your job is to drive out those bandits!"

The shadow clone saluted. "Understood, me!" He then turned and started to walk out of the room in an exaggerated march. "Come on, lets go!"

Ronin shook his head. "Why me?" he said mostly to himself.

* * *

A few hours after being assigned the mission Team Naruto was on the road, well on their way to the bandit-plagued village. For the most part the four had been quiet, with even Naruto and Natsuko having little to say.

The latter apparently had had enough of that and broke the silence.

"Sensei," Natusko said over her shoulder from her position at the front of the group, "what did you mean when you said that we wouldn't learn anything from a D-rank mission?"

"Hm?" Naruto replied. "Oh, that. D-ranks are just menial labour. Finding stray cats, walking dogs, babysitting, stuff like that. There is nothing in those missions that a non-ninja couldn't do."

Natsuko turned so that she was walking backwards. "But those things sound so…uncool."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I thought the same thing when I was your age."

"Will we fight other ninja?" Ronin asked. Apparently now that Natsuko had broken the silence the floodgates were opened.

Naruto turned to look at Ronin. "If things go according to plan, no. C-ranks involve fighting against non-ninja, but as soon one gets involved it gets bumped up to at least B-rank."

"What was your first C-rank, Naruto-sensei?!" Natsuko exclaimed.

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled as he remembered. "My first C-rank mission turned out to be an A-rank. We were hired by a carpenter from the Land of Waves, Tazuna, to protect him while he was building a bridge."

"How was it an A-rank?" Ronin said. "I thought you said that it was your first C-rank."

Naruto opened his eyes. "Old man Tazuna lied when he hired the mission, saying that he had no reason to expect ninja. He couldn't afford a higher-end mission, so he made it sound easier than it was to bring down the price. I don't remember all the details, but some rich guy was after him for the bridge he was building and ending up hiring a rogue jonin from the Hidden Mist named Zabuza."

Ronin looked up at Naruto in surprise. "Zabuza Momochi? The Demon of the Hidden Mist, member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"

"That's him!" Naruto exclaimed. "Wait, how did you know?"

"I read about him," Ronin answered. "He died assassinating a corrupt business magnate named Gato in the Land of Waves. Were you there?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "That was during our mission."

"Awesome!" Natsuko yelled excitedly. "You must have had a really cool fight with him!"

Naruto was visibly taken aback by this. "What? No way. He was much too strong for me back then. Kakashi-sensei did most of the fighting."

"Oh," Natsuko said, deflated.

"Well," Naruto said, smiling, "let's hope that this mission doesn't turn out anything like that one."

* * *

Sarada kicked the dirt at her feet as she stood outside the modest town hall, really just a large building with a single room inside, of the farming village that they had been sent to protect. Naruto was within, discussing the mission details with the village elders.

Natsuko bounced happily in place as she hummed a tune that only she knew. Suddenly she stopped and turned to her teammates. "Hey, you guys think that Bolt's alright? You know, with his little sister being kidnapped and all."

Ronin, who had been sitting against a tree with his eyes closed, opened them and looked at Natsuko. "Why do you ask?"

Natsuko shrugged. "I was just thinking about it."

Ronin closed his eyes. "Bolt will be fine, nothing gets that jokester down."

Sarada looked over at her teammates. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. We should be there for him if he needs it."

Ronin looked back at her, seemingly considering if talking back was worthwhile. "Whatever you say," he said with a shrug.

The door into the town hall and the three genin jumped in surprise. Naruto came out of the building and slammed the door back behind him.

"We're ready to go?" Ronin asked as he looked up at the Hokage.

"Yep," Naruto replied. He kneeled down and pulled a map from his pack, flatting it out on the ground. "Well, the bandits are most likely camped out here," he said, pointing at some hills northwest of the village. "They seem to be very confident as they haven't moved from there in a few weeks."

Ronin leaned forward to get a better look at the map. "How many should we expect?"

"The locals have never been able to get an exact number," Naruto answered. "They estimate 15-20, possibly a couple dozen."

"That many?" Natsuko asked nervously. "Can we defeat that many?"

Naruto patted her on the head and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, these thugs won't be able to stand against ninja."

Natsuko smiled hopefully and nodded.

Naruto stood up and pointed in a general northwesterly direction. "Let's go!" he said as he took off running, jumping into the trees of the forest surrounding the village.

"Wait for us!" Natsuko screamed as she scrambled to follow.

"Wha-?" Ronin said before he let out an exasperated sigh. He then got up and started running. Sarada quietly started following the others.

* * *

Sarada had never gone on a mission before, but she was pretty sure that they weren't supposed to be conducted like this. They had done little to no scouting, they had no formation, and no real plan. Thus far everything they've done since leaving the farming village was Naruto running ahead and the three genin desperately trying not to fall too far behind, all of them losing sight of each other.

After ten minutes of running Sarada spotted Ronin, who had noticeably slowed from his top speed. When Sarada caught up to him she matched his pace.

"Ronin, you really need to work on your stamina," Sarada said, concerned.

Ronin shot her a glare. "Oh, shut up, Uchiha, not everyone's blessed with good genes."

"Naruto-sensei told you to work with me and Natsuko," Sarada replied.

"He said work with you, not like you," her teammate retorted.

Sarada remained quiet for a moment, turning her attention back in front of her. "Whatever, we need to catch up. Put some speed into it."

"Yeah, yeah," Ronin replied before gathering his strength and bounding ahead. Sarada sighed and matched his pace.

After five more minutes Sarada caught sight of Natsuko and Naruto, kneeling on a tree branch. Sarada and Ronin moved in next to them.

"Sensei," Ronin started, "we need to talk about this, first you just start running-"

Naruto interrupted the boy by holding up a hand and pointing at the hills just past the edge of the forest. Sarada looked in that direction and saw at least a dozen armed men, most likely the bandits they were after, gathered on the side of the closest hill, obscured by the trees in the way.

"This is the perfect time for an ambush," Naruto whispered. "Ronin, Sarada, I want you to-"

Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence when the tree they were standing in burst into the flames. Surprised, the four ninja instinctually jumped to the next tree, but mid-jump Sarada saw several projectiles flying towards them. She thought they could easily dodge them, but was surprised when some sort of chakra shield surrounded them.

The projectiles suddenly blew up with a force greater than any paper bomb she'd ever seen. The explosion bounced off the chakra shield and, stuck in mid air with nothing to anchor against, was sent flying through the air, crashing through the trees. Sarada probably should have been more thankful that she wasn't caught in the explosions, but at that moment she was preoccupied with the fact that she was being thrown into into the side of the shield.

They came to a rest outside of the forest, at the foot of the hill they had seen the armed men gather, men who now had them surrounded on all sides, numbering at least 30. The shield receded and Sarada finally noticed its source, Naruto. Now wreathed in a glowing orange and black cloak, Sarada was transfixed, as were most of the bandits.

"The Nine-tails Cloak," Ronin whispered, mostly to himself.

"Well, well, well, Naruto Uzamaki, the Seventh Hokage. I'm surprised that he's the one they sent, though I suppose he sent himself. Anyway, I was hoping that we'd be getting the smaller fish until later, though that does explain how he survived both my fire jutsu and your bombs," said a voice Sarada heard from behind her.

Turning around Sarada saw two men stepping out from the forest. Both were of average height and slight frame, one wearing a beat up Hidden Stone flak jacket, the other a heavily scratched Hidden Mist headband.

The latter spoke with a look of melancholy about him. "You're right, my friend. I remember that cloak from the war, its awesome power. Should be fun to go up against it. Still, it's a bit of a pity to have to fight a great hero."

Naruto took a few steps forward, putting himself between his students and the two shinobi. "If you both took part in the Fourth Great Ninja War, why are you here? Didn't you learn anything about peace and cooperation between nations?"

The Stone ninja smirked. "We learned plenty, after all, we became friends after the war. But the war is the reason that we're here. The peace that came afterwards put us on hard times, we were surplus to our village's requirements. So we came here, figured that, in the spirt of international cooperation, we'd work out some of our old grudges against the Hidden Leaf."

"What are we going to do, Sensei?" Ronin asked.

The Mist ninja laughed. "Oh, wait, he's got brat's with him. This must a mission for them. We can use that to our advantage."

"The guy with the explosives is the problem here, I can't fight him and protect you three from his attacks at the same time. I need to draw him away. But I can't draw both of the shinobi away and I can't leave you alone to fight the other. So it looks like my best option is-." Naruto then bit his right thumb, drawing blood. He took the bloody thumb and slammed into the palm of his left hand, then quickly went through a short series of hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" he yelled as he slammed his hand on the ground.

There was a large cloud of smoke and as it cleared Sarada saw a toad, tall as an average man and twice as wide, wearing armor and sword strapped across its back.

"Hey there," Naruto said, "how you doing Mr…uhh…what was your name again?"

The toad turned to Naruto. "Naruto! Can't you take an effort to at least learn our names?! I swear it's like you only know Gamabunta and his kids." The toad sighed. "Gamaraka, remember it this time."

"Yeah, sure," Naruto replied.

Gamaraka turned his attention to the opposing ninja. "So what do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to draw the one from the Hidden Mist away," Naruto answered. "Look after the genin for me, don't let them get hurt."

Gamaraka drew his sword. "Understood."

Naruto held out his arms and chakra extended past his hands, flying straight towards the Mist ninja. The man smiled and dodged the chakra arms as they writhed around him, forcing him further and further into the woods, away from everyone else.

When the two combatants disappeared from view the Hidden Stone ninja walked towards a tree and sat down. "Well, I really should go help, but I can't leave our flank exposed like this. But, it would be rather crass of me to turn my strength against a bunch of pups." He signaled to the bandits, vaguely waving in the genins' direction, as if he were too bored to put that much effort into it. "I'll leave it to you fellows, should be more of a sporting match."

Out of the corner of her eye Sarada saw one of the men rush at her with a sword. Instinctively she ducked underneath the strike, countering with a jab to the chin, knocking the attacker off balance. She drew a kunai made a slash for his neck, but then she stopped. She realized that landing her blow for end this man's life and that thought terrified her.

The bandit saw her hesitation and took advantage, making a downward swing that Sarada didn't react to until it was too late. Fortunately she didn't have to, because as soon as the man was there he was gone in a flash of blue.

There was then a loud thud as the toad landed next to Sarada. "You're lucky my Liquid Bullet got there in time. What's your name kid?"

Sarada turned to see the wet, broken, and mangled body of the bandit sitting in a small crater on the side of the hill. "Sarada. Sarada Uchiha."

Gamaraka readied his sword. "I understand if you are hesitant to kill, Sarada, Naruto is no different. But at the very least you must fight, to protect yourself and your teammates. So go out and fight. Same goes for you two." Ronin and Natsuko nodded solemnly.

Realizing what the toad was saying, Sarada steeled herself for the coming fight. Though they were only genin, even the lowliest ninja could defeat untrained bandits such as these. One by one the enemy fell, but the genin never landed a single killing blow, though Gamaraka had no such qualms. When the last of the enemy fell Sarada surveyed the battlefield.

Most of the bandits were on the ground either unconscious or writhing in pain, those that weren't either had gigantic sword wounds or mangled, wet bodies to show for it. Sarada and Gamaraka were situated close to each other on one side of the small battlefield, Ronin and Natsuko on the other side.

The Hidden Stone ninja chose this time to move, standing up from his seat under the tree and taking a few steps forward. "Well, those men were useless. Ah well, we can replace them. I'll just have to deal with you brats myself. Don't worry, it won't take long, even with the toad to look after you."

The man performed a short series of hand signs for a jutsu that Sarada was unfamiliar with, but almost immediately after he was finished with that he started the signs for a technique that she was much more familiar with.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the Stone ninja yelled as flame sprang forth from his mouth.

As the fires came towards them Sarada felt large arms wrap around her as she suddenly flew into the air, carried by Gamaraka. Unable to reach Ronin and Natsuko, he fired a series of Liquid Bullets near them, creating a small gap in the flames around the genin.

As Sarada looked down she was surprised at the sheer immensity of the attack, never had she thought it possible for the Fireball Jutsu to be done on this scale. To her horror she realized that the all the men laying unconscious on the ground, the ones she couldn't bring herself to kill, they now laid dead, burned to a crisp by their own boss.

As Gamaraka and Sarada began their descent the flames started to dissipate. Ronin, probably hoping to use the fire to screen his attack, threw several shuriken at the Stone ninja. The man responded by simply waving his hand in a sweeping motion and the weapons were knocked out of the air as if by some invisible force. The man then grabbed two of the shuriken and threw them back at Ronin, landing a direct hit with both.

Sarada's eyes widened as Ronin hit the ground. The force of Gamaraka landing knocked her glasses off her face, but Sarada neither noticed nor cared. As soon as she could be she was kneeling next to Ronin, inspecting his wounds. He had not been entirely spared from the fire, he had severe burns on both arms and the shuriken had hit him in both shoulders. The wounds were most likely painful and would keep him out of the fight, but she saw no reason to believe that his life was in immediate danger. His breathing was strained, but it was steady and not fading and his eyes were closed.

"Where is Uncle Naruto?" Sarada said out loud, though in truth she was only asking herself.

Ronin opened one of his eyes and looked at Sarada, something resembling a smile dancing across his lips. "Well, looks like you finally decided to bring those damned Uchiha eyes into play."

Sarada paused for a moment and processed what her teammate had just said. She looked at her hands and saw it. Swirling energy emanating from her body. She could see chakra. Her Sharingan had awakened.


	26. Harrowing

XXVI: Harrowing

Sarada

"Sharingan!" the Stone ninja exclaimed excitedly. "I'd heard that Sasuke Uchiha had a little brat, but to think I'd run into you here! Let's see how things develop, I want me have a taste of the vaunted Uchiha power."

Sarada stared at her opponent coldly, still kneeling next to Ronin.

"Sarada," Ronin said quietly, "there's something that I want to test out, your eyes may be…of some help." The boy attempted to push himself up into a sitting position, wincing in pain from his wounds and burns.

Natsuko knelled down next to him, opposite of Sarada, gently pushing down on his shoulders, a worried expression on her face. "You're no condition to fight. What do we do, Sarada? We can't beat this guy, he's too strong."

Sarada thought for a moment but it was Ronin who responded. "We're not running, like I said I have an idea. Natsuko, throw a kunai at him, Sarada, watch it closely."

"But-" Natsuko started.

"Do it," Ronin said with a harsh tone of command in his voice.

Natsuko sighed and relented, drawing a kunai and throwing it at the Stone Ninja, who, as before, nonchalantly waved his hand, knocking it out of the air seemingly with some invisible force, but now Sarada could see.

"What was that?!" the rogue ninja yelled. "Come on Uchiha brat, show me what you got.

"Well?" Ronin asked.

"It looks like he's using chakra to block attacks," Sarada answered, "but there's something different about it, it's a different color from the chakra that's just leaking out of our bodies."

Ronin leaned back, looking up at the sky. "I wonder…"

"You got something in mind, kid?" Gamaraka asked.

Ronin leaned back forward slightly. "I do, listen closely."

Sarada and the others leaned slightly to listen to Ronin's plan. When he finished explaining it they prepared to put the strategy into motion.

Natsuko opened the attack, launching Shuriken coming at the enemy from either flank. Holding his arms out on either side of him he blocked the projectiles with his chakra shield. Gamaraka then jumped at him from the front, which the Stone ninja again blocked.

"Now Sarada!" Gamaraka bellowed.

The Stone ninja turned around. "An attack from my rear? Elementary." He turned again when Gamaraka jumped to the side, putting up his shield as a last second response to Sarada's frontal assault. His eyes widened as he realized the exact nature of the attack.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sarada yelled as she initiated the technique. To her surprise it wasn't deflected, in fact it was far stronger than she had intended it to be. She watched in terror as the rogue ninja screamed in pain, an unearthly cry the likes of which Sarada had never heard even in her worst nightmares. She could see the flailing, burning arms of her victim as both the flames and his screams receded and he fell bodily to the ground. Sarada's Sharingan deactivated, more of a result of her exhaustion than anything else.

"Well done, kids," Gamaraka said, "I think I'm done here. See ya." With that said the giant toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What was that?" Sarada asked after a moment of quiet. "That was way more powerful than I intended it to be. Is that an effect of the Sharingan?"

"No," Ronin answered, "I doubt it. I think my theory was right, that defensive jutsu he was using was wind based and he also used it to increase the effectiveness of his fire techniques. Unfortunately for him, that carries a risk, because enemy fire jutsu used against him would be strengthened too."

"You're right," a voice said, causing the genin to freeze in fear. "To think that a bunch of brats have done me in. It wasn't even the Uchiha brat that figured me out, but some random boy! Ha! I may die here today, but I'm taking you with me!"

Sarada turned to see the horribly burned Stone ninja push himself up from the ground and start charging the genin, who sat there, too shocked and fearful to move. Then suddenly a kunai flew in from behind Sarada, striking him in the chest and causing blood to spray out of the wound. The Stone ninja fell to the ground, skidding to a halt in front of the genin.

"Heh heh, well done…" the man said quietly in a fading voice.

After sitting quietly for a moment, staring at the Stone ninja, Sarada finally willed herself to move, crawling over to check on their enemy's status. She found his pulse on his neck and felt the last few, faint beats before his life ended. Sarada looked over her shoulder at her teammates.

Natsuko sat on her knees, her hand stuck where her kunai had left her grip, covered in the Stone ninja's blood. She was shaking and her eyes her were wide, the constant, bright sense of happiness and life that had always filled her eyes and annoyed Sarada so much was gone, replaced with an abject emptiness. "That was…cool…right?"

Sarada sat down with a thump. She stared at the ground for a while, not really keeping track of time, barely conscious of Ronin slow but steady breaths and Natsuko's quick and sharp inhalations, just barely keeping herself from hyperventilating.

"I see you guys had a rough time of it," Sarada heard a voice say and she looked up to see Naruto standing over her, the unconscious form of the Mist ninja slug over his shoulder. He placed him gently on the ground and kneeled down in front of Sarada. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner. Should have finished with this guy sooner." He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the Mist ninja. "I was too careful about not killing this guys and keeping him away from the farming village, should have been more worried about protecting you three. Sorry."

Sarada looked back at her teacher, but said nothing. She didn't feel the need to accept his apology, she didn't blame him.

"S-Sensei…" Natsuko choked out, tears starting to roll down her checks.

Naruto quietly moved next to her, gently patting her on head. "It's all right, you're safe now."

Natsuko's crying worsened and she threw her face into Naruto's chest who, after a moment's hesitation, wrapped his arms around her in a soft embrace. Nobody moved for a few moments as Natsuko continued her crying.

"Sensei," Ronin said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" Naruto responded.

"There's one thing that I don't understand. Why did those two ninja chose to fight you? They'd seen you fighting before, why didn't they run, or surrender?"

Naruto looked over at the still unconscious Mist ninja. "You can ask him when he wakes up."

Ronin dipped his head forward slightly to get a view of the man. "Maybe I will."

Shortly after Natsuko's tears began to dry and Naruto untangled himself from her. Natsuko stayed where she was, a depressed look on her face as she stared at the ground.

Naruto walked over next to Ronin and sat down. He inspected his wounds and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, you should never have been hurt like this." A chakra cloak then enveloped Naruto, similar but different to the Nine-tails Cloak. Again it was orange and black in color, but it was shaped differently and the sensation of the chakra it was radiating was different from anything Sarada had ever experienced.

Naruto gently touched Ronin on the shoulder and immediately his wounds healed and Ronin sat up and examined where his burns had been, a look of shock on his face. Sarada was also astounded by this, though she was too emotionally drained to really express it vocally and from the look on Natsuko's tear stained face she was thinking the same.

"I suppose this is what you used on Sarada after I injured her in the survival exercise. First time seeing it for myself," Ronin said as he got over his shock.

Naruto's cloak receded and he stood up. "Come on, let's get you three home," he said as he hoisted the Mist ninja over his shoulder.

As Naruto started to walk away Sarada stood to follow. She hadn't gone three steps when she heard Ronin's voice behind her. "Hey, Sarada, you forgetting something?"

Sarada turned to see Ronin holding out her glasses. In all the commotion she had forgotten that they had fallen off. She accepted the glasses from her teammate. "Thanks." She put them on and then immediately recoiled from the distorted vision that it gave her, taking them off again. She fold them up and put them in one of her pockets. "Thanks, but I don't think I'll be needing them."

Ronin shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say, Uchiha."

Sarada hadn't noticed before in all the chaos of the battle and it's aftermath but now looking around she could see that with her Sharingan awakened her eyesight was fixed. She wouldn't be needing her glasses anymore.

"Could you guys be any slower?" Naruto called from the edge of the forest.

Natsuko was still sitting on the ground, not seeming to have the will to stand up. Ronin grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. "Come on, we need to get going."

Natsuko took a deep breath and nodded, starting to walk alongside Ronin to follow their sensei. Sarada quietly came along after them.

They stopped in the farming village to inform the clients of their success and to purchase some rope to tie up their captive with. They then continued on their way to the Hidden Leaf. The going was quiet for a few hours, Ronin and Sarada maintaining their traditional silence and Natsuko, the team's usual initiator of conversation, continuing her post-battle withdrawnness.

The captive Mist ninja, still being carried by Naruto over his shoulder, seemed to be stirring. "Argh…wha? It seems I've been captured. Pity."

Ronin moved over to walk within speaking distance of the captive. "Hey, I've got some questions for you."

The Mist ninja looked up at the boy. "Hm…I may have answers. But first answer mine. What happened to the others?"

"They're all dead," Ronin answered matter-of-factly.

The captive smiled softly. "Good. Looks like you got there ahead of me, my friend."

"What about the other men in your group?" Ronin asked, sounding more mildly curious than disgusted by the ninja's apparent disregard for his men's lives.

The Mist ninja chuckled. "You know, I find that searching for your own death makes you unsympathetic to that of others."

"Searching for your death?" Ronin said. "Is that why you didn't flee when you realized who were up against?"

"Yes," the Mist ninja replied.

"But why?" Ronin asked.

"We already told you," the captive replied, "our villages released us, they had no need for us. There is nothing worse than not having a purpose to your life."

"So you couldn't fight for your village, big deal, there are plenty of other things you could spend your life doing," Ronin said.

The Mist ninja laughed softly. "Perhaps you're right, but we're shinobi, we've been trained since we were children for the battlefield, it is all we know. If we cannot contribute on it, what other purpose can we serve? Without that our reason for living became dying."

"For wanting to die, you sure fought awful hard to stay alive," Ronin retorted. "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure there are more efficient means of suicide."

The Mist ninja looked up, a look of sadness in his eyes. "Suicide? Yes, we considered that. But that is…unseemly. We always thought, believed that our deaths would come for us on the battlefield, fighting for our lives. We couldn't have it another way."

"So the whole 'taking out grudges against the Hidden Leaf' thing was just a lie?" Ronin asked.

"Oh, no, that was real enough," the captive answered. "We figured that we'd take care of two things at once. We wanted work our way through as many Leaf shinobi as possible before they finally got us. We both considered that a worthwhile thing to do. As it happens the first person they sent was well out of our league."

Ronin eyed the Mist ninja silently for several moments before posing another question. "What is your name?"

"My name?" the reply came. "Boy, the dead have no need for names."

* * *

It was just past nightfall when Sarada opened the front door to her house and stepped through it, closing it behind her. She took off her sandals and started the slow walk to her bedroom. Her mother was sitting in the kitchen sipping on some tea when passed by the room in the hallway.

"Mission or training today, Sarada?" Sakura asked.

Sarada stopped and faced her mother, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, as much emotional and mental as physical. "Mission."

Sakura smiled amicably. "What did you do? Dog walking? Babysitting?"

"Fought bandits and a couple of ninja," Sarada answered flatly.

Sakura's face expressed her mild surprise. "Oh, that's…unusual for a rookie."

Sarada nodded slowly but did not speak, hoping not to be dragged into a long conversation.

Sakura stood up and walked over to her daughter and gave her a quick look over. "You look a little banged up but nothing too bad. You doing training tomorrow?"

Sarada shook her head. "We're getting tomorrow to recuperate, then a team meeting and training session the day after that."

"I see," Sakura said as she completed her inspection. She then smiled and patted her daughter on the head. "Looks like you deserve a bit of rest, so go ahead. Just remember, I'm proud of you."

Sarada nodded sheepishly. "Yeah Mom, good night," she said as she resumed her trek to her bedroom. She was due for a long rest, for that day had been long and harrowing.


	27. Role to Play

XXVII: Role to Play

Kakashi

Kakashi was at Guy's apartment, looking to talk with his oldest and dearest friend. He knocked on the door, waiting for the words "come on in" to be said on the other side. Upon receiving his cue he opened the door and let himself in. Guy is in the kitchen, at a table next to a large window, looking down at the market area below.

"Kakashi, my old rival," Guy said upon seeing the Sixth Hokage, "I heard you went on mission."

"Yeah," Kakashi answers, "got back a few days ago."

"Is it the kind of the mission you can talk about?" Guy asked.

"No," Kakashi said as he sat down at the table. "Now what would you like to hear about it?"

Guy eyed Kakashi, confused. "uhh…didn't you just say that you can't talk about it?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "But I need to bounce some thoughts off of someone and I guess since I'm still technically Hokage I'm at liberty to say who I do that with."

Guy shook his head, suppressing a laugh. "You sly dog, Kakashi, you've been complaining about still being treated as Hokage ever since you retired, but as soon as you can use it to your advantage you don't hesitate. That's what I like about you, Kakashi, you're pragmatic. It's what made you such a challenging opponent."

Kakashi had been looking out the window. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Guy slumped his head in defeat. "Never mind. So where were you going and what was the purpose of this mission?"

Kakashi leaned back in his seat. "We were sent to the Village Hidden in the Sound. We'd received intel that it had been attacked and were sent to ascertain the situation."

"And what was the situation?" Guy asked.

Kakashi remained quiet for a moment, trying to think of the words. "The village was destroyed. The pattern of destruction suggests that the attacker had the Rinnegan."

Guys stared back, wide eyed with surprise. "Destroyed? With the Rinnegan? How is that possible?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past few days," Kakashi replied.

"Any ideas?" Guy prompted.

"Well," Kakashi said, "we know that Orochimaru and Kabuto both have done extensive research into the Rinnegan in the past. It's possible they continued that in secret and one them succeeded."

"Ok," Guys said with a hint of disbelief, "so one of them gains the Rinnegan and then they…attack the Hidden Sound? Why would either of them do that?"

Kakashi looked up at the ceiling, as though it might have some sort of answer for him. "I don't know, perhaps Kabuto wants revenge against his former master for some reason. We know that he disappeared not too long ago, the timing is suspicious. Perhaps Orochimaru would have done it to throw us off of his tail, make us think that he was dead so that he could enact some sort of plan in secret."

Guy put a hand to his chin in thought. "Hm…we have no reason to believe that Kabuto harbors any ill feelings towards Orochimaru. And the plan of faking not only your own death but the destruction of your own village seems a huge undertaking, even for Orochimaru, and a difficult feat to pull off in any case. Any surviving civilian could tell your plans to anybody."

"That's the thing," Kakashi said, returning his gaze from the ceiling. "Nearly the entire civilian population survived. Orochimaru could have engineered an evacuation, make everyone think the village was under attack and keep the truth of it to a minimal few."

"That does seem plausible," Guy conceded.

"There is one thing that seems to be a hitch in that theory though," Kakashi said.

"What would that be?" Guy asked.

"We were confronted by a couple of shinobi while en route to the Sound," Kakashi answered. "They were trying to delay us and claimed that they didn't work for Orochimaru. Claimed he was an 'old relic' if I remember correctly. Seemed like he was telling the truth too."

"So then it wasn't Orochimaru," Guy stated simply.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "Or perhaps that is what he wants us to think. Another false lead to throw us off his trail."

Guys shook his head at that. "You are over complicating this, Kakashi. Sometimes the simple answer is the correct one."

"And what is the simple answer?" Kakashi asked after a moment's hesitation.

"We don't know," Guys replied simply.

Kakashi stands up and walks over to the window. "Thanks Guy. You know, I most certainly could not have thought of that myself."

"Well, that is what I'm here for," Guy said, the look of pride on his face quickly turning into one of suspicion. "Wait, are you making fun of me?"

Kakashi didn't respond.

"Kakashi, are you ignoring me?!" Guy yelled.

"Guy," Kakashi asked calmly, "do you know of a demonstration that's supposed to happen in the market today?"

"Uh, no. Why?" Guy asked.

"Because there seems to be one forming out there now," Kakashi answers.

Below them in the market square there was a large number of people gathering, carrying large signs emblazoned with various inflammatory phrases usually containing the words "sand" and "war." A few people seemed to be speaking at the head of group, but they were too far away to be heard clearly.

Guy wheeled himself to the window sill and hoisted himself up so that he could look down at the proceedings. "Hm. You may want to check in on that."

"That's the plan," Kakashi said as he opens the window and slips outside.

"Kakashi!" the retired Hokage heard as he made his descent. "You don't even give me a farewell!"

Kakashi had other things on his mind at that moment. Besides, he knew that behind all of Guy's bluster he understood. Coming to a rest on top of wood canopy extending over the outdoor seating area of a cafe, Kakashi looked down at the gathering and could see that it was steadily growing.

"Not even a week past, my friends," the speaker at the head of the group yelled to the crowd, "the daughter of our beloved Hokage was kidnapped." There was much loud booing at that statement. "This we know to have been the work of the Sand, who we accepted as friends and allies, even after they betrayed us with Orochimaru." The booing continued, growing louder. "And they have done so again, and we feel the Lord Hokage's loss as our own." The booing was replaced with screams of support for Naruto, but then the speaker held up his hands and the crowd slowly fell into a silence. When it was so quiet that you could have heard the beating of an owl's wings he continued. "There is but one course of action that we can take, my friends! We must make war upon the Sand! We must march into their despicable little village, restore our lost child to us, and burn the damned place to the ground!"

The silent crowd exploded into pandemonium, screams of "yeah!" "damn right!" and "down with the Sand!" tearing through the market square. There was one fellow who said to "turn the Hidden Sand into the Hidden Glass!" Kakashi had to commend him for his cleverness, if not the message itself.

Deciding that a little bit of showmanship would be of use here Kakashi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in an instant next to the speaker, his arrival causing the crowd to once again fall into silence.

"Lord Sixth Hokage!" the speaker yelled, holding his arms out to his sides in a gesture of both greeting and exaggerated surprise. "To what do we owe this honor? Do you come to add your voice to ours?" He gestured to the audience, who responded with cheers.

"No," Kakashi said flatly. "I want you to cease your demonstration. There is no need to be calling for war here."

"No need?!" the speaker yelled out into the audience. "Is the peace we have between our villages so valuable that we suffer our children being taken from us? Do we suffer insult to our Hokage and village for the sake of this peace." The gathered demonstrators responded with a resounding "no."

Kakashi wanted to tell them the truth, that they no longer suspected the Sand. But Naruto wanted to keep what little they knew under wraps until Himawari had been found. Without knowing who was behind the crime there was no way of knowing who to trust.

Just as Kakashi was running out of ideas of how to take care of this situation Naruto appeared on the scene in a way similar to Kakashi earlier. The only difference was that the sitting Hokage flared some wind chakra, generating a breeze just strong enough to pull signs out of the hands of unsuspecting demonstrators. The crowd fell quieter than ever before at the entrance of Naruto Uzamaki.

"Lord Hokage!" the speaker greeted Naruto. "Have you heard our pleas? Will we be marching to war?"

Naruto crossed his arms, not looking the speaker in the face. "There will be no war. But I will not let the Sand get away. Tomorrow I will send a delegation to meet with them, and they will use every tool at their disposal to bring back my daughter. We will resolve this through diplomatic means, not battle."

The crowd seemed to be placated by that, the earlier fervor lost. Seeing momentum was turning, Kakashi approached the speaker. "What's your name?"

The speaker looked a bit concerned, the wind had been taken from his sails. "Nao," he answers absently.

"Well, Nao," Kakashi said, "the Hokage has given you what you wanted, the Sand will answer for their crimes. This demonstration is over, and I think an orator of your skill can close this out."

Nao looked at Kakashi, sizing him up. Then he smirked, his pride apparently stroked. "People! In his wisdom our Hokage has found a way wiser than anything than we could have thought of. Go home, secure in the knowledge that today you succeeded!"

The crowd began to dissipate with that. As the square empties out into something resembling its normal levels of crowding, Naruto approached Kakashi. "It's a good thing you showed up, sensei."

Kakashi chuckled at that. "Hardly. Now what's the plan?"

Naruto turned and started to walk in the direction of the Hokage Residence, Kakashi walking beside him. "Exactly what I told those demonstrators, I'm going to send Temari to have talks with the Sand. The people need to see that we're doing something about this situation."

"But we no longer suspect the Sand, why pursue them?" Kakashi asked.

"We can team up with them, get their help," Naruto answered. After a short pause he continued. "Who was the spokesman at the demonstration?"

"He said that his name is Nao," Kakashi replied, "I didn't recognize him and he's suspicious to say the least."

Naruto nodded. "I agree, I'll have Shikamaru investigate him."

"Good," Kakashi said, "until we know whose behind all this we need to suspect everybody. It's troubling to say the least, the events of the past few weeks."

"I know what you mean," Naruto replied as they rounded a corner, "the Sound, Himawari, we have a lot of problems where everything seemed to be alright before."

"Yeah," Kakashi said, "we need to find whose responsible for all of this."

Naruto threw a curious glance in Kakashi's direction. "Just one person responsible for all of it?"

Kakashi nodded in confirmation. "Or at a single group of people. All of these seemingly disparate events, the timing is suspicious. I don't think that it's mere coincidence."

Naruto shrugged. "Why not? It could happen."

"I suppose you're right about that," Kakashi concedes. "In any case I intend to stick around for the time being. I think I might have a role to play in the weeks and months to come."

"Good to hear, sensei," Naruto replies.

They parted ways after this point, Kakashi going to his apartment as Naruto continued on his way to the Hokage Residence. As he walked home Kakashi did some reflecting. After his retirement he had thought that he could finally, for the first time in his life, taking things easy. But now he saw that this wasn't the case, at least not for him. He still had a role to play.


	28. Negotiations

XXVIII: Negotiations

Temari

At midmorning Temari had been told by an ANBU messenger to come to the Hokage's office for an important mission. She had to meet with her students to inform them that the morning's training session was cancelled.

When she had arrived at the Hokage Residence Temari was greeted by Shizune, who quickly escorted her to the office, foregoing any of the usual formalities. Whatever was going on, Temari figured that it had to have been important. Indeed it was.

"A diplomatic mission to the Hidden Sand?" Temari was surprised to hear this. She was technically still the liaison between the two villages she both called home, but relations had always been so smooth that she rarely had to fulfill that role.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. We already sent a messenger hawk to the Kazekage last night. The meeting will be held on neutral ground in the Land of Rivers in three days." He picked a scroll off his desk and handed it to Temari. "All the details are in here."

Temari took the scroll but didn't read it. "Are you sure? I mean, this is really short notice here."

"Temari," Naruto said, "my daughter is missing and I don't know who has her. Meanwhile, the civilians are blaming the wrong people, wasting my time with calls for war." He paused and sighed in exasperation. "I need that time to find Himawari. Besides, this could be a chance to get some help from the Sand."

Temari made to say something in response, but found she had nothing except, "I understand. Who all will be coming with me?"

"I'll send a squad of ANBU Black Ops with you as bodyguards," Naruto replied. "Other than that…" Naruto stopped, distracted by something going on in the hallway. "Whoever is out there, you can stop eavesdropping."

The door to the office opened and there stood Bolt Uzamaki.

The boy's father looked surprise. "Bolt? Is something wrong? I promise I'll be right with you in a moment. Shikamaru, take care of…"

"I don't care about that," Bolt interrupted. "We're going with Temari-sensei."

"You're going where?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "Wait…uh…who's 'we?'"

Bolt motioned to people outside of the door frame. "Come on, guys!"

Into view came Temari's other students, Haruto Hyuga and Tora Yamato, the former talking back to Bolt. "I told you this is a stupid idea, Bolt. We shouldn't be doing this."

"What _are _you doing?" Temari asked sternly.

"I told you, we're going with you," Bolt answered. "We're not letting you go alone."

Haruto rolled his eyes in annoyance. "He means he won't let you go. I swear that losing his sister is making him paranoid. How disgraceful, no true Hyuga would ever act in such a manner."

"Excuse me?" Naruto said, his tone causing the Hyuga to recoil in fear. "Are you belittling my daughter's kidnapping?"

Haruto turned to the incensed Hokage. "Of-of course not, Lord Hokage."

Naruto relented and turned his attention to his son. "Is this what you really want?"

Bolt stood determined and nodded. "Yes."

Naruto sighed, giving in. "Alright, you three will go with Temari on her mission."

Bolt whooped in victory while his teammates looked on, resigned to their fate. Temari stood there flabbergasted, wondering how she had ended up in this mess.

* * *

Gaara

Gaara sat in the Council Chamber, watching the members of his council, waiting for a response. Baki had just finished reading the letter from the Hidden Leaf that had arrived in the middle of night.

"My Lord," Isamu said, standing up, "you should not go to this meeting, it is likely a trap."

"I am not going, Isamu," Gaara replied. He wasn't, he didn't feel safe leaving the village out of his protection. "But someone will represent the village."

"Then I beg you, Lord Kazekage," Isamu said with a slight bow, "send me."

Gaara regarded the councilman with suspicion. He wasn't about to send a war hawk like Isamu to a diplomatic meeting, especially with his recent attempts to agitate relations with the Leaf.

Baki must have been thinking the same thing. "I would think that unwise. I suggest we send Lord Ebizo to represent us."

Gaara considered that for a moment. Ebizo was ancient, well into his 80's, and mostly just observed during council meetings, but he was also highly respected. Above all else, he was cautious. He wouldn't jump into conflict as others might. "I think that is an excellent choice."

Ebizo opened his eyes, though Gaara knew that he hadn't been sleeping, and sighed. "Very well."

"Then I will assign a squad to guard him," Isamu said quickly.

Gaara hesitated for a moment. For the same reasons that he didn't want Isamu going to the meeting himself he didn't want him having any say on who was there.

Baki leaned in and whispered to Gaara. "He is Head of Security. We can't deny him that, Gaara."

Gaara nodded, conceding the point. "Very well, Isamu."

Isamu bowed before he left the room, going to prepare the guard detail.

Ebizo slowly came his feet. " I suppose that I should go and prepare for my journey. The meeting is in three days, correct?"

"Yes," Baki confirmed.

"Hm," Ebizo said. "Well, Temari is a reasonable girl. This shouldn't be too difficult on my old bones." He then left the council chamber, not bothering with any of the usual formalities.

"Well, then," Baki said once the elder man had left the room, "I think that this meeting is concluded." He looked over at Gaara for confirmation. The Kazekage nodded, giving his consent.

The councilors all stood and left the room, walking out in a casual manner. Gaara remained in his seat and watched as the others left. When he was the only one in the room he stood up and walked to his office, moving at a leisurely pace with his hands clasped together behind his backs.

Gaara's thoughts turned to recent events. There was something off that he didn't like, but Gaara couldn't quite figure out what it was. The Sand patrol being murdered, Himawari Uzamaki being kidnapped. There seemed to be some conection between the two but Gaara couldn't see it.

Isamu was another concern of his. Was he just a war hawk, taking advantage of an unfortunate event to stir up aggression? Perhaps he was doing what he believed to be his patriotic duty. The worst possibility was that the councilman was somehow involved in all of this. Gaara hoped that wasn't the case.

Above all else, Gaara thought about the meeting with the Hidden Leaf. Any hopes of maintaining peace between the villages hinged on the outcome of those negotiations.


	29. Dream

XXIX: Dream

Sarada

Sarada's eyes opened as she came to wakefulness, exiting a dreamless sleep. She felt rested, at least physically. Emotionally she still felt drained and the events of her first mission the day before still weighed on her mind.

She laid in her bed, thinking about everything that happened while trying hard not to think about it. All those people who died…the destruction they wrought…and her Sharingan…

She was suddenly alert as she realized the importance of that last part. She remembered clearly what her father had told her when she had last seen him. Sarada had things she needed to do.

Sarada rolled out of bed onto her feet, then quickly changed into a clean set of clothes, forgetting to grab her glasses, not bothering to take a bath, or even thinking about breakfast. Walking with purpose, she made her way out of the house and headed into town.

The first thing on Sarada's to do list was to find Kakashi. The problem with that was that there was no one place where you could find him, even in the man's own apartment, and there was a good chance that the former Hokage may not even be in town.

Sarada decided to go for the next best thing. Arriving in one of the village's marketplaces, she walked into one of the apartment buildings overlooking the main square. She ran up the stairs and arrived on the floor on which Guy's apartment was.

Coming to a stop at his front door, Sarada knocked on it several times.

"Hello?" the voice of Guy came from the other side. "Kakashi, is that you? Hold on, I'll get it."

The sounds of Guy's grunts became clearer as Sarada heard him coming to the door. When it opened he was standing on his hands and sweating profusely. "What, I was in the middle of pull ups…" Guy stopped when he saw who it was. "Oh, Sarada, I wasn't expecting you. Are you here to spend some time with your Uncle Guy?" he said with a big smile.

"No," Sarada said flatly, "do you know where Grandpa Kakashi is? It's important."

"Ah," Guy said after a moments hesitation, looking disappointed. "I don't know where he is right now, but if I had to guess he'd be looking for someplace to have lunch right about now."

"Thanks," Sarada said quickly as she took off running back down the hall, ignoring Guy's yells. Down the stairs and out the building she went and then went into the nearest restaurant.

"Excuse me," she said to the hostess, "have you seen Kakashi Hatake lately?"

The hostess looked surprised at the question. "The Lord Sixth? No, I'm afraid I haven't seen him since yesterday. Sorry."

Sarada nodded and took off running, stopping at each restaurant she saw where a similar scene would play itself out each time. After visiting about a dozen or so establishments, Sarada stopped under an overpass to catch her breath and take a moment to think.

"Yo," Sarada heard from above her.

She turned to see Kakashi sitting on top of the overpass, looking down at her. "Grandpa Kakashi? I was looking for you."

"I know," Kakashi replied as he jumped down and landed next to the young Uchiha. "Was there something you wanted from me?"

"Um…yes," Sarada said, "Um…Papa told me that you could train me in the Sharingan."

Kakashi's masked face betrayed no reaction. "Listen, Sarada, I can't teach you about something…"

"No!" Sarada interrupted. "I unlocked my Sharingan." She blinked and activated her kekkai genkai.

Kakashi stopped talking and kneeled down to get a better look at her new eyes. "I see. I assume that they're the reason you aren't wearing glasses anymore."

Sarada felt for the rim of her eyewear but found nothing. She had yet to get used to the change.

Kakashi inspected the eyes further. "Looks like their in the earliest stage of development, but that's not at all unusual."

"Grandpa Kakashi," Sarada said, "did you really have the Sharingan?"

Kakashi paused for a moment before responding. "Yes, I did."

"Really?" Sarada said, skeptical. "But you're not an Uchiha."

Kakashi closed his left eye. "Look carefully."

Sarada studied that eye carefully, trying to see what the former Hokage wanted her to find. The only distinctive trait was that old scar of his…then the idea came to Sarada, and she looked over the scar again and she saw. "Your scar. I always assumed it went over your eye, but no, it goes through it. But that would mean you lost your eye, then how…"

Kakashi opened his eye and sighed deeply`. "When I was your age, I was sent on a dangerous mission deep into enemy territory. It was a time of war, children were pressed into battle at a young age. Anyways, during this mission we were attacked and one of my squad mates, a relative of yours, saved my life, though I lost my left eye. He was killed later on in the mission and as his final wish he gave me one of his Sharingan as a parting gift. Years later I then lost that Sharingan and gained this eye, but that is a ridiculously long tale for another time."

Sarada thought about that for a moment. "So then, you must have used it quite a bit."

Kakashi chuckled slightly. "Well, I did become a little famous for it, in some circles."

"Is there some kind of special training for the Sharingan?" Sarada asked.

"Well, the Sharingan has many abilities that you should be made aware of," Kakashi answered. "And I have a special jutsu that only your father and I can use that requires the Sharingan but your eyes aren't developed enough for that yet."

"Do you have some time to train with me today?" Sarada asked, hopeful.

Kakashi stood up and seemed to consider this for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, why not." He then turned and started to walk away, motioning for Sarada to follow. She did, deactivating her Sharingan.

They walked for what felt like an eternity, Sarada letting her excitement get the best of her. Eventually they arrived at training ground seven, where Kakashi stopped in the middle of a clearing.

"Right now," Kakashi began, "you can only use the Sharingan's most basic abilities, the ability to see chakra and the ability to easily interpret hand signs. The primary use for these is to identify what kind of techniques your opponent is using. Different types of chakra are used in different jutsu and different hand signs are specific to the jutsu that is being performed. You must learn to recognize the kind of jutsu that your opponeat is going to use based on the type of chakra and the hand signs they are performing."

"Ok," Sarada replied, "how am I going to do that."

"Simple," Kakashi said, "I am going to demonstrate a wide variety of jutsu for you. You must learn to spot the patterns and recognize the technique before I have even performed it."

With that the training began and continued for several hours . It was rather easy for Sarada, all things considered. There was no physical exertion on her part, just sitting and watching with her Sharingan. Kakashi would perform every kind of jutsu there is, and she would just watch. The elemental jutsu, genjutsu, clone jutsu, and many others. Eventually Sarada had most of them down, learning how differentiate different chakra types and what hand signs were associated with what kinds of techniques, and would call out what kind of jutsu Kakashi was using before he executed them.

Late in the afternoon Kakashi stopped. "Sarada, I think that's enough for today."

"Ok," Sarada said, deactivating her Sharingan. She suddenly felt weak and collapsed where she was sitting. Before her head hit the ground Kakashi suddenly appeared beside her and caught her.

"Careful, the Sharingan can be exhausting if you aren't use to it," he said.

Sarada regained her composure and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm fine," she said as she steadied herself.

"Alright, if you want to train some more just tell me. See ya later," he added with a lazy wave before disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

After taking a moment to catch her breath Sarada started the trek home. She felt a sense of fulfillment at learning about her birthright, the power in her eyes. However, in the back of her mind she knew there was something else she needed to do.

As her home came into view Sarada broke into a sprint. She hurried to the front door and threw it open, slamming it closed behind her. She started to walk into the house in search of her mother but then remembered her sandals. Reaching down mid-stride at her foot, she hopped on one leg and then the other as she quickly started pulling off her footwear and throwing them aside.

"Sarada, is that you?" Sakura's voice ringed out from further inside the house.

Sarada paused as she was reaching for her second sandal, then answered. "Yeah."

"Ok," the response came. "I was a little surprised that you weren't home when I got back from work. You missed dinner, by the way."

Sarada placed a hand on her stomach, suddenly and acutely aware that she hadn't eaten anything all day and was very hungry. But she shook her head and refocused her mind. "Mom, I need to ask you something. It's important."

After a pause Sakura answered. "Alright, hold on a second. I'm taking bath."

As Sarada stepped into the main hall she heard the sounds of footsteps and dripping water. She looked over at the bathroom to see Sakura leaning out the doorway with a towel wrapped around her.

"Yes?" Sakura said.

"Mom, can you show me the secret room under the family alter?" Sarada asked without hesitation.

Sakura looked a bit surprised, but understanding soon dawned on her. "Alright, just let me get dressed."

Sarada nodded her consent and Sakura stepped back inside the bathroom. Sarada walked to the family alter and sat against the wall. After a few minutes Sakura came in, her hair still wet.

"I'm going to show you how to get in," Sakura said as she stood over her daughter. "Watch carefully, because I'm only going to do this once. Don't really like being in there."

Sakura pushed up on a candle wall mount, just within Sarada's reach, and it moved aside. She then placed her hand against the revealed spot on the wall and Sarada saw, with her Sharingan, her send three small and short burst of chakra into that spot. There was a soft sound of stone scraping against stone as a floor panel in the corner of the room slid away, revealing a hidden staircase that led under the house.

Sakura brushed her hair from her face and looked down at Sarada. "You'll find what your looking for in there. You close it the same way you open it and don't forget to do that after you're done." Sakura then left the room.

Sarada creeped over to the stairwell and peered down. It was creepy, dark, and a little damp. Sarada ran over to the alter and grabbed a box of matches from behind it. She then grabbed one of the candles from the altar and lit it with a match.

Candle in hand Sarada started her descent with a sense of foreboding, getting stronger with each step and creating a sense of weight and pressure in her chest. At the bottom of the staircase there was a plain room, with nothing except a small table and a stone tablet at the far end.

Sarada walked over to it, realizing that it must be the tablet that her father spoke of. When she reached the table she set the candle and started to read. However, she found that she couldn't read it. Whatever text was on it, she couldn't understand it.

Sarada tried to read it again and again, forwards and backwards, even tried to pick up the tablet and turn it over, though it proved too heavy for her to do that. Suddenly the idea came to her. She activated her Sharingan and tried reading it again: suddenly she could make out the words.

It wasn't entirely clear and some passages were completely unreadable still, but Sarada was starting to understand what the tablet was about.

On the right hand side was text describing the abilities of the Sharingan. What little of it she could read was exactly what Kakashi had taught her about earlier that day. What really caught her attention, though, was the writing on the left side of the tablet.

It seemed to be a history and a description of the Uchiha clan. Sarada had a rudimentary knowledge of her family's history, knowing that they were co-founders of the Hidden Leaf and that they were massacred almost down to every member when her father had been a child, but even her understanding of all that was vague.

The tablet told of a time when war was rampant in the world, something that Sarada couldn't really imagine. The Uchiha Clan were mercenaries, selling their shinobi skills to the highest bidder, and they were one of the best. They had but one rival, the Senju. However, one day, the leaders of the Uchiha and the Senju forged a friendship and an alliance, and together formed the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Senju Head became the first Hokage. Sarada couldn't read the part concerning what happened to the Uchiha Head.

That, while interesting, was really just academic to Sarada. But what really caught her attention was a passage on the bottom left, simply titled The Curse of Hatred.

She could make only a little of it, but what she could understand concerned her. "The Sharingan is awakened by pain and fear of losing loved ones. It offers great power, but it comes at a price. The more pain a Uchiha experiences the more powerful they become and the more obsessed they become with both, regarding the plight of others as insignificant." Sarada said to herself, reading the first few sentences aloud. After that she couldn't make it out, until the last sentence. "The only way to defeat the Curse is to reach out beyond yourself and the Clan."

This Curse of Hatred sounded like something that Sarada should avoid, but what did it mean to "reach out beyond yourself?"

The question rolled about in Sarada's head for a good long while, until the mostly melted candle started to flicker and Sarada realized how long she'd been down in the tablet chamber. Grabbing the candle she ran back up the stairs and closed the passage just as her mother had opened it.

Assuming that her mother had already gone to sleep Sarada sneaked to her bedroom, walking past the kitchen, too consumed by the quandary of how to "reach beyond yourself" to remember that she hadn't eaten all day. She slipped into her bedroom and climbed into bed, still wrestling with that question.

Unable to rest, she stared up at the ceiling, an epiphany not forthcoming. She kept thinking on it until she slipped into an empty sleep.

Sarada woke, barely remembering that she had gone to sleep. In the early morning light she sat up and blinked away her tiredness. Needing to get her blood pumping she stood up and started walking, pacing around her bedroom a few times before stepping into the hallway and heading towards the kitchen.

As she neared Sarada could smell her mother making breakfast and was immediately reminded her of how utterly hungry she was.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up this early," Sakura said as Sarada walked into the room. "I'll just make you something real quick."

Sarada sat at the table and in quick order there was food set down in front of her. However, despite her hunger, she did not immediately dig in. She picked at her food, pushing it around her plate and taking little bites as the question she had gone to bed with continued to plague her.

"Something on your mind, Sarada?" Sakura asked.

"Hm…oh," Sarada said, "I…just…nothing."

"I imagine between your first mission and awakening your Sharingan there's a lot going through your head right now," Sakura said.

Sarada looked up at her mother. "Yeah…but I don't know what to do with it."

"Maybe you talk about it with Naruto today," Sakura responded.

Sarada realized that she could ask Naruto and resolved to do so during the team meeting later that day. With renewed focus she ate her breakfast, finished getting ready for the day, and went to go to the meeting.

Sarada arrived early for the team meeting, finding herself once again at training ground seven. It was just past noon and she didn't have to wait long. Within minutes Ronin arrived and as usual he took a seat apart from Sarada. Upon seeing her teammate Sarada remembered about the Sharingan awakening from pain of lost love ones and that Ronin had been the source of her awakening. Sarada could feel herself starting to blush as she realized some of the implications of that.

Ronin noticed Sarada staring. "Something you want to say, Uchiha?"

Sarada realized what she had been doing and quickly turned away, too embarrassed to blush or say anything.

Natsuko arrived shortly, still in the same uncharacteristically dour mood that she had been at the conclusion of their first mission. She sat herself between her teammates, not seeming to acknowledge the existence of either.

They sat there silently. When Naruto arrived some time after no one spoke up to berate for being nearly an hour late.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm la…" Naruto said as he came on the scene. When no one reacted Naruto looked at his team with concern. "Alright," he said as he sat down, "obviously you guys need to talk. I know you went through a lot."

No one said anything for a while. "Well, come on, spit it out," Naruto said.

"I have a name," Ronin said, almost to himself.

"Hm? What was that?" Naruto asked.

"I said that I have a name!" Ronin yelled, again, almost to himself. "Those ninja we fought. They'd given up. On life, on happiness, even their own names." Ronin suddenly looked very resolute. "I won't be like them. I have a name. I have a dream. I am Ronin Moto, I will be a great ninja, and even if my dreams are pointless, I'll still be proud, because I'm Ronin Moto and no one can take that away from me!" Ronin stood up as he yelled that into the air. Indeed the whole time he seemed to have been speaking to anyone but those present.

Naruto smiled wide and gave the boy a big thumbs up as he sat back down, not offering a single word. He then looked at Natsuko. "Got anything you want to say?"

Natsuko stared down at the ground. "When I was little I always wanted to be a ninja. I just thought they were so-"

"-cool." Ronin interrupted.

"Yeah," Natsuko confirmed. "But what happened out there. That wasn't cool. People died." She began to cry. "I killed someone. I see his dying face in every dark recess, the blood from the wound I gave him. I don't know if I can take it." The poor girl broke down into a pitiable sob.

"Natsuko," Naruto said in a reassuring voice, "do you know what it means to be shinobi?"

Natsuko wiped away some tears. "I-I don't know. I guess I never rea-really thought about it. Beyond being, you know-"

"Cool," Ronin finished.

"Yeah," Natsuko confirmed.

"Natsuko, Shinobi are those endure," Naruto said. "To be a ninja means that you struggle through the pain and the hurt, because the path to a better world is always hard. If this life were easy everyone would do it."

Natsuko's tears stopped flowing and she dried her eyes.

"Don't ever give up, even when it seems impossible," Naruto continued. "If you stop you fail yourself and your friends."

Natsuko nodded in understanding. She looked stronger, more resolute. For the first time in days she looked anything other than depressed.

"What about you, Sarada?" Naruto asked.

Sarada opened her mouth, preparing to go into detail about everything that had been on her mind the past few days. But then she hesitated and thought better of it. That kind of information didn't really belong outside of the Uchiha clan.

"Well," Sarada said as she thought of a different way to frame her question. "how can someone reach beyond themselves. So that you don't become like those ninja. Keep perspective, I mean."

"Hm," Naruto responded as he got lost in thought. He turned and looked up at the Hokage Monument. "Do any of you know what it means to be Hokage?"

Sarada looked at her teammates but neither of them looked either willing or able to give an answer. "Well, it means you lead the village, that you're the most powerful ninja in the village."

"No," Naruto said immediately.

Sarada was surprised to hear that, given that was the definition as it had always been explained to her.

"To be Hokage," Naruto said as he looked back at his students, "is to be put the welfare of the village and its people above your own. To accept every single person as your family and to protect them with all your might. You must be willing to sacrifice your everything for their sake."

Sarada looked up in amazement at the Hokage monument. This was the answer to her quandary. Holding up her hand she framed each Hokage's face starting from the First's and working right. She stopped after Naruto's face, at the spot reserved for the Eighth Hokage and for the first time in her life she imagined her own face there. "I know what I want to do. My dream. I will be Hokage."

* * *

Sarada walked into her house with a spring in her step. After their pep talk Naruto decided only to have a light training session for the day. They finished early and Sarada was in such a good mood that she had decided to spend her small amount of pocket change on a meal at her favorite restaurant.

Coming home a little later than usual Sarada was greeted in the entrance hall by her mother.

Sakura smiled at her daughter's obvious happiness. "Did something good happen today, Sarada?"

"Mom," Sarada responded, "I know what I want to do with my life."

Sakura looked very surprised by that. Sarada had never been one to talk about dreams. "Ok. What's your dream? To be as awesome as your mother?" Sakura flexed her arm, showing off her impressive musculature, a joking smile on her face.

"No," Sarada said. "I'm going to be Hokage, just you wait and see."

Sakura looked more surprised than her daughter had ever seen her. Then she started laughing hysterically, bending over and holding her stomach. She had to sit down the laughing was so intense.

Sarada suddenly felt very indignant, feeling her life goal was being insulted. "Hey, Mom! It's not funny! I'm serious!"

Sakura slowly regained her composure and answered. "I'm sorry, you just reminded me of something from a long time ago." Smiling proudly, Sakura wrapped Sarada up in a hug. "I don't think you could possibly have a better dream."


	30. Spring into Action

XXX: Spring into Action

Sasuke

Sitting against the back wall of a cave, Sasuke watched the rain falling down with no sign of letting up. It had been a few days since the start of the the mission into the Hidden Rain and so far little had been accomplished.

After emerging from the tunnel in the Land of Rain they had quickly traveled to a cave near the capital city of the small and insulated country. Since then Sasuke's only constant companion has been Madoka, who had been busying himself by tending to the fire that provided the only warmth in this cave.

Kumi and Kankuro spent all of their time in the Rain Village searching for leads there while Yamato and Sai traveled to outlining villages and towns to do the same. Madoka proved to have no propensity for unnecessary conversation, so Sasuke spent most of his time in silence. Which he honestly preferred.

Out of the pouring rain came Kumi, returning from a day of sneaking around the Rain Village.

Madoka looked up from the fire. "Nothing again today?"

"Nothing," Kumi confirmed as she took off her poncho and sat down next to the fire.

Madoka sighed and shook his head. "This country is locked up tighter then I would have ever thought possible. Not even the people seem to know much about their leadership."

"Yet they seem to display complete and blind faith," Sasuke noted, as much to himself as to the others around him.

Madoka regarded Sasuke for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, it is rather remarkable."

Then the sound of footsteps signaled the arrival of more of the team. Sasuke looked up to see Yamato and Sai walk in from the rain.

Yamato removed his poncho and started pacing around the cave.

"Nothing again?" Madoka asked after watching Yamato for a few moments.

"Yes," Sai answered for him.

"We're getting nowhere like this," Yamato finally said, not seeming to be directing it towards anyone specifically. "The people know nothing about their own leaders, that much is obvious. I've never seen anything like it."

"Well, perhaps Kankuro will return with something," Kumi said in a tone of almost vain hopefulness.

"Maybe," Yamato replied. "In any case we need to change our approach. We need to be more direct."

"How?" Madoka asked. "We know little to nothing about this government, we don't even have a place to start."

"I may have a way to help with that."

Stepping out of the rain, Kankuro shook some water from his coat. Of everyone on the mission he alone foreswore the use of ponchos. "I found something interesting during the night that might give us an angle."

Yamato stopped his pacing. "What do you have?"

Kankuro took a seat by the fire and began to unpack the large scroll in which he sealed his puppets. "I was gathering intel in a bar when someone with the title "Left Hand of The Master" walked in."

"Did he have anything useful?" Yamato asked.

"He didn't reveal anything we hadn't already found out," Kankuro answered as he started to unfurl the scroll. When he found the seal he was looking for he undid it and one of his many puppets appeared. "But if we're going to infiltrate the Hidden Rain leadership itself then this is the place to start."

"Is that the puppet body of Sasori?" Yamato asked in mild surprise.

"Yes," Kankuro said. "I've made some modifications to it over the years."

Sasuke studied the puppet for a few moments. He remembered many occasions of Orochimaru speaking of his former partner, the first target he planned to eliminate from the Akatsuki. Sasuke was surprised to see what appeared to be a red-haired teenage boy in a grey cloak, not what he had imagined of what by all accounts had been an immensely powerful ninja.

Kankuro touched his hand to the back of the puppet's head and began to apply chakra to it. The eyes of the puppet light up and began to project an image against the wall of the cave. With subtle manipulations of his chakra Kankuro caused the image to shift and change rapidly. Fast forwarding through a variety of mundane scenes of the capital it finally rested on the image of a man sitting at a bar.

"That's him," Kankuro said, "the Left Hand of the Master."

Sasuke looked at the image and studied it. A man of average build, with short hair and tanned skin and he seemed tired and weighted. The look of someone who was beginning to lose their way.

Yamato nodded a few times in understanding. "Alright, starting tomorrow we're going to start tailing this guy, find out as much as we can about him." Yamato looked around at the team members as Kankuro ceased the projection. "Sai, you and I will be going to the capitol tomorrow to assist Kumi and Kankuro in the tailing. Sasuke, you'll be coming with us too."

"Yes, sir," Sai said as Sasuke merely nodded.

"We're going to find out everything we can about this guy," Yamato said, "his name, his exact position in the government, and his daily habits. Rest up, its going to be a long day tomorrow."

* * *

Sasuke sat on the roof of a building in one of the Hidden Rain Village's residential areas. Below was the home of Askia, as they had learned his name was, the Left Hand of the Master. The whole of the team, with the exception of Madoka, who had been left behind at the camp, had been tailing him ever since they first picked him up early that morning.

Kumi, with her invisibility jutsu, and Kankuro, with his array of puppets, handled the close up detail, staying as close to the target as possible. Sasuke, Yamato, and Sai, meanwhile, maintained visual contact from a distance and provided back up to the others.

Sasuke looked to his left as Sai landed beside him with a splash. "We're going to be staking out here all night."

Sasuke wasn't surprised to hear this, so he declined to respond and instead returned his gaze to the house.

"Kumi is in there, so keep an eye out for a signal from her too," Sai said.

Sasuke glanced over at Sai, confused. "Why did she go inside?"

Sai shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure."

After several moments of silence Sai spoke up again. "What do you think of this guy?" Sasuke didn't answer, but Sai kept on going. "It seems to me he may not be all that important, like Kankuro thinks. All we've seen him do is go to a bar, drink, then leave, go to another bar, and repeat the process."

"No," Sasuke responded. "There's something on his mind, some sort of problem that he keeps wrestling with."

Sai made to say something, but was cut off by a women's scream coming from inside the house

"Kumi," Sasuke said as he readied to spring into action.


	31. Redemption

XXXI: Redemption

Askia

Another day, another tour of the Hidden Rain's bars. Without any work to focus on, Askia's mind wandered to places he didn't want to go, and he found that living in a haze of alcohol kept his mind still.

Stumbling into his apartment Askia was slow to close the door behind, preferring to set his half-empty drink down before he did so. As he came to the door he thought he heard footsteps but saw no one in the hall.

"Huh, must be my…my…imagination," he says as the door closes.

Grabbing his drink Askia lifted it to take a swing, but then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. For a moment he thought he saw Neji Hyuga standing against the wall.

"Get out of my head, damn it!" Askia yelled as he slung his bottle at the offending image. The bottle broke against the wall, Neji Hyuga nowhere to be seen. Askia was about to leave it be when he noticed something strange. The drops of liquid that fell from the bottle didn't fall in a natural way, but there was no visible obstruction. Even his drunken state the Rain shinobi's well trained senses found this odd.

Reaching out clumsily with both hands Askia searched for something that could explain this. After a short moment his left hand found and instinctively gripped it. A young woman appeared where none had been before, Askia holding her by the throat.

"Well, what do we have here?" Askia asked.

The woman did not answer, merely staring defiantly back back at him. She pulled a knife out and attempted to stab Askia, but he merely knocked it out of her hand, the cut he got on his arm causing him little pain in his drunken state.

"What are you doing here, huh?" Askia asked, swaying slightly.

Again there was no answer.

"Alright then, I'll just…" Askia said as his eyes closed and leaned his head against the wall before shaking himself awake. As he came back he saw the woman stealing a glance at a window.

Askia followed her gaze. "You waiting for backup?" The woman deigned not to answer. "That's ok, I'll…take care of it." Keeping her pinned to the wall with his shoulder, Askia clumsily grabbed her hand with both of his. Realizing what he was doing the woman struggled, but against the drunken, larger, stronger man it was no use.

Taking her index finger, Askia bent it back until it broke. The woman was in obvious pain but she didn't scream or yell out. Not getting the result he wanted, he threw her roughly to the ground and pinned her there. He bent her elbow back until it snapped. Again she did not scream. Askia moved up the arm to the shoulder and broke that too. She screamed at last, loudly and painfully.

The sound of a window breaking signaled the arrival of the woman's backup and Askia pulled himself up to meet them, nearly stumbling as he came to his feet.

Two men, both of dark hair and pale skin, one of whom wielded a sword. Had he been more sober Askia might have been able to ID them, but in his current state he knew they were intruders in both his home and the village and that's as far as he got.

"Well," Askia started before he fell to the ground, face first, the woman kicking his feet out from under him, grimacing in pain as she spun on her broken arm. Turning over after his fall Askia say one of the men go the woman and ask if she was ok. The sword wielder stood over the Rain ninja and Askia looked into his eyes and everything went black.

* * *

Askia's first sensation was the pounding pain in his head. He tried to cradle his forehead in his hand but his arms wouldn't move. Opening his eyes he could vaguely see ropes wrapped around his body. As his vision cleared he saw that they were made out of what appeared to be ink.

"Captain," one of the pale, dark haired men from before said, looming over Askia, "he's awake."

Groaning in pain, Askia twisted himself into a sitting position, leaning against the rock wall behind him. He could now see that they were inside a cave.

"Let's hope that he's sober now," the one who was apparently their leader said.

Askia looked at the man. "Yamato, commander of the Hidden Leaf's ANBU Black Ops division."

"What," Yamato yelled, "how did you know that?!"

Askia groaned in pain, still sensitive to sound in his hungover state. "Ugh. Our information network is better than you realize. Now please keep it down."

"Captain," the first man said, "it would seem that we've got ourselves a lead after all."

Askia turned his attention to him. "You're Sai, second-in-command of the Hidden Leaf ANBU."

Sai and Yamato exchanged quick glances between them. "We need to find out everything he knows," the latter said, "Madoka."

A large sitting by a fire away from Askia stood up and started to approach him, performing a series of hand signs.

"Wait," another voice said. Askia looked up to see the second man who had broken into his home before. His eyes widened as he realized who it was. "Let me go first."

"Very well, Sasuke," Yamato replied.

Askia looked at Sasuke and suddenly he was no longer in the cave. Looking around at the strange surroundings, which seemed to be a series of mismatched colors that offered no sense of background or foreground, up or down, Askia said, "What? Where am I?"

"A genjutsu, created by my Sharingan," Sasuke said as he materialized in front of Askia. "It will let us talk privately."

"What do you want?" Askia asked.

"Something is eating at your conscious," Sasuke said, "I don't know what, but it's there."

Askia eyed the Uchiha suspiciously. "How would you know anything about that?"

Sasuke's passive face betrayed no emotion. "Do you forget who I am?"

"I'm nothing like you!" Askia yelled angrily. "My cause is just! I don't kill out some misguided sense of vengeance!" He then added in a hushed tone. "My calling is higher."

"I've killed in the name of a cause greater than myself, I've killed when it was convenient for me, I've fought those who have called me friend and those who have loved me," Sasuke said solemnly. "What have you done?"

Askia closed his eyes. "I've murdered good men, kidnapped children, let comrades die, instigated wars on the orders on The Master."

Sasuke looked at Askia, confused. "Wars? There hasn't been a major conflict in over a decade."

"Then it has yet to pass," Askia replied, "but before long the Sand and Leaf should be at war."

For the first time, the Uchiha showed any reaction, surprise. "What?! How?!" Suddenly the genjutsu was broken the real Sasuke was holding his sword to the bound Askia's throat, his Mangekyo staring threateningly at Askia and he knew, even more than ever before, his life was in the hands another, that Sasuke could kill him with very little effort.

"Sasuke! Get a hold of yourself!" Yamato said, grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder.

The Atoner's face softened and returned to its normal passive state, sheathing his sword and stepping away from Askia. "He says that he's set the Leaf and Sand against each other, that there will be war soon."

Another man sitting near the fire, wearing a black coat and face paint, looked around awkwardly. "Um…should I be worried about that?"

"No," Yamato answered, "we have no idea if he's telling the truth or not, Kankuro."

"Kankuro," Askia said to himself, "the older brother of the Kazekage?" He looked up at Yamato. "So this is a joint Sand-Leaf mission?"

"You know what," Yamato replied, "We're not going to tell you anything until we get some answers out of you. Now talk."

Askia stared defiantly back at the Leaf ANBU commander, saying nothing.

"This is your chance to redeem yourself," Sasuke said, "and prevent a war."

Askia looked over at the Uchiha and then averted his eyes from him and everyone else.

"Just kill him," a woman said, walking into the scene. "He's not going to be of use to us."

Askia saw that her arm was in a sling and realized who it was. "I'm…so sorry," he said, his head hanging low.

"No, Kumi," Madoka replied, "we need him, he's the only lead we've got."

"I'll help you," Askia muttered.

"What?!" Yamato said in surprise.

"If there are any records of everything that The Master has done, it would be in his tower," the Rain ninja replied. "I can take you there."

"Why would we need to go there?" Sai asked. "It would be dangerous and we have you."

"I only know a fraction of The Master's dealings," Askia replied, "he keeps information compartmentalized, only he knows the complete picture."

"Why are you helping us?" Madoka asked suspiciously.

Askia sat up as straight as his restraints allowed. "There is something that I must see for myself."

"Alright," Sasuke said, walking over to Askia and pulling him to his feet by the ink ropes around his body.

"Sasuke…" Yamato began.

The Uchiha drew his sword and slashed through the ropes, which fell to the ground and dispersed into their liquid ink form. "I'll keep an eye on him. Stay here."

Led out of the cave by Sasuke, Askia remained silent as the rest of his captors looked on silently.

When they exited the cave Sasuke turned to the Rain shinobi. "Where is The Master's tower?"

"Its the tallest building in the village," Askia answered, "the same one the Lord Pain used when he ruled here."

Sasuke nodded and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Askia yelled out at him. "Why are you helping me."

"Come on," Sasuke yelled back without breaking stride. "We've got a long walk back to the village."

Askia quietly followed after the Atoner, wondering if he was heading towards damnation or redemption.


	32. Find Her

XXXII: Find Her

Hinata

Hinata sat next to a campfire, staring out into the darkness, her Byakugan seeing everything for several dozen miles in perfect clarity. Without moving a muscle she scanned large spans of territory, seeing many things but nothing that she sought. For the first time ever, she couldn't find her daughter.

Sitting across the fire from her was Kiba, staring intently at the Hyuga. "Hinata, get some rest," he said, loudly and clearly.

The kunoichi did not respond.

"Hinata," Kiba said, "I know you can see everything ever and you're shinobi big brother or whatever, but I also know those eyes have limits."

Hinata paused for a moment, then focused her eyes on her old teammate and stared intently. "We still haven't found her," she said.

"He's right," Shino said, walking in from the darkness around the campfire. "Why is that? Because overuse of the Byakugan can lead to the user being temporarily blinded, and if that were to happen you would only hurt the mission."

"I know that better than either of you," Hinata replied.

"Come on, Hinata," Kiba pleaded. "You remember how we did it back with Kurenai-sensei, right? Did we ever not find our mark? No. So trust us."

Hinata stared silently at the tracker for a moment, then replied, "this is different."

"No, Hinata, it isn't." Kiba shot back.

"Hinata," Shino said, leaning down next to the Hyuga, "my insects are already deployed and cover nearly as large an area as your eyes, and unlike the Byakugan they can do it almost indefinitely."

"Yeah," Kiba affirmed. "And once Shino has a lead, me and the boys will close in with our noses," gesturing to a pair of young dogs sleeping next to him. "Then you'll able to get eyes on them, without having to waste so much time and energy."

Hinata sighed deeply and closed her eyes, the veins in her temples receding as she deactivated her Byakugan. "Alright."

Hinata walked over to the nearby tent and laid down in her sleeping bag, though she did not sleep, could not, not until she knew where her Himawari was, not while she was still missing.

"You worried we're going not to pull this one out?" Kiba asked Shino, half whispering. "I mean, we have basically no leads, been out here for, what? A week with nothing?"

"No," Shino answered quickly. "We'll find her. I have no doubt of that. We'll find her."


End file.
